AN: Dry Winds
by ZenosParadox
Summary: The trials of Baki, master of Wind Sword and Sensei to Gaara, Kankuro and Temari.  Ch 1 Team Baki Forms  Ch 2  Becoming Tools   Ch 3  Emotional Training   Ch 4  Finding Identities  Ch 5 Adventures in Nightingale Country  Ch 6  Losing the Tomboy
1. Buy the Man a Drink

Summary: The formation of Team Baki in Sunagakure. 

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story was written for personal enjoyment.

**DRY WINDS**

_**Buy the Man a Drink**_

The dry winds of Suna shape its landscape; their constant presence assures new sand dunes are created and on rare occasions, hidden treasures are exposed. But one must take care not to be buried in the shifting sands carried by these dry winds. 

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_Sunagakure Hospital: The Assignment_

At twenty-five Mitsuki no Baki was a seasoned veteran who had suffered many injuries, but the last mission had marked him for life. The jonin stared at his image in the mirror by his hospital bed to inspect the damage the acid had wrought. 

He would have to compensate for his blind left eye now that there was nothing functional left in the socket. His hand traced the tattoo on his right cheek that honored him as a wielder of the Wind Sword. Its mate on his left cheek had been hollowed into the skin with several grotesque scars radiating from it. He looked like a monster. 

"The Crystal Caves have a treacherous reputation for good reason, I see. You're lucky the cave demon only left you disfigured and not dead," observed the Kazekage as he suddenly appeared behind the jonin.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage," replied Baki as he turned to face him. The Kazekage had yet to don his formal robes, so the jonin understood this visit required discretion.

"You'll need to drape that side of your face; it's hideous. You'll scare the servants at the Tower and I have enough trouble finding help." The Kazekage shook his head at the inconvenience of it all.

"Yes, my lord, I see the wisdom in hiding my face, but," began Baki in confusion, "I'm quartered in the barracks; we have no servants."

"Your effects have been moved to the fifth floor of my tower. Tomorrow morning you'll begin your new duties as sensei to Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. It will require your complete dedication, of course, so you might as well live with them. You'll have your evenings free to pursue the company of adults. I'm not so cold-hearted as to imprison you with them." 

The Kazekage extended a scroll that provided the basic information on his offspring. He knew that the jonin could always appeal to the Council to change the assignment. Baki was a Marshal and a valuable operative in the field. Offering him residence in the Kazekage's Tower was merely part of the incentive. It would be luxurious compared to the barracks.

Baki kept his surprise in check and silently studied the information on the scroll: 

_Temari Female age 10 Talent: wind Weapon: fan_

_Kankuro Male age 9 Talent: chakra strings Weapon: puppets_

_Gaara Male age 7 Talent: killing Weapon: sand Ultimate weapon: Shukaku_

"My lord, the wind is my strength, but my understanding of chakra strings and sand shifting is better than my ability to manipulate them."

"Good, I find too many of our jonin only appreciate results rather than understand the underlying principles. We need more men like you in Suna. In fact, this scroll contains my recommendation to give you the open seat on the Advisory Council."

Baki felt his heart race at the prospect, but remained uncertain that such a coveted appointment was worth the dubious honor of playing Sensei to the Sand Siblings. "I don't know if I have a talent for teaching. Perhaps someone else--"

"I've tried one of our best scholars. It's a good thing the man didn't have much longer left to live. I then tried one of our strongest jonin, but really, he couldn't be too strong if a seven-year old could best him." The Kazekage shook his head in disgust. 

"I suppose not, my lord," said Baki.

"What I need is a man of many talents, someone who can improvise. Your cunning allowed you to survive a cave demon. I'm confident you can survive Gaara," assured the Kazekage with a grim smile. He noted the frown on his subordinate's face and asked, "You have other reservations?"

"I'm not good with children, my lord," admitted Baki. He seemed to hesitate before he admitted, "I make them--cry."

"These three do not cry," admonished the Kazekage. "They are not children, merely ninja who need intensive preparation. They are tools to be shaped to serve the village and I have chosen you to see to it."

The Kazekage walked in a slow circle around the man as he spoke. He stopped in front of the jonin and made one last announcement. "You stay alive on this assignment and I'll let you have the girl when she comes of age. It's clear that no woman would marry you now. Isn't that the ultimate goal of the Mitsuki line?"

Baki felt the sting of his words, but he couldn't refute this assessment. Indeed, his grandfather was anxious for Baki to marry and start a family, but Hiroko had not come to see him since they first unwrapped the bandages. Her absence had sent him a clear message, but he was uncomfortable that the Kazekage would offer his own daughter as a bribe for his service. 

"I wouldn't presume to bind a girl's future to mine, my lord, especially as her teacher."

"Don't be a fool; it's best to train a woman at a young age to be what you want. Karura was my student before she was my wife," stated the Kazekage bluntly. "I shaped her for a purpose; she was completely mine."

"Forgive me, my lord, but I cannot think of a ten year old girl as a future wife." 

"Little girls grow up, Baki, and I expect this arrangement will give you incentive to make sure Temari remains untouched until I'm ready to be a grandfather." The Kazekage murmured quietly, "A pure vessel might make a difference next time." 

"I see," said Baki as he considered the implications. 

The Kazekage had sacrificed his wife to create the demon child, Gaara. Would the daughter suffer a similar fate? Baki could see how the Kazekage might be biding his time until his daughter was of age to be the next woman to spawn a demon. He wanted no part of it, but his intervention might save the village from another manifestation of Shukaku. In Suna, a married woman came under the protection of her husband, not her father, even if he was the Kazekage.

"Then I would prefer this--betrothal--remain between the two of us." 

"Temari won't need to know until I give her the order to marry you," agreed the Kazekage. "Be at the Council chambers this afternoon. I'll introduce you as a candidate for the empty seat, but your induction is a mere formality. We'll also announce your new role as Sensei."

"I will be honored to present myself to the Council for their consideration," agreed Baki with a slight bow.

The Kazekage then presented two small objects to the jonin. "Here is the key to your new quarters and this seal gives you authority to obtain whatever you need for training. I will expect weekly reports on their progress after the Council meetings, but don't want to be bothered with details otherwise. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage, I understand."

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_Jonin Lounge_

Once he was alone, Baki spent some time selecting the best way to hide his disfigured visage. By the time he presented himself to the Council, his scars were well hidden behind the drape of fabric. Everything went smoothly and when he was dismissed, he went to the lounge of the jonin barracks to review reports. That's where he ran into his colleagues and revealed the news.

"The Kazekage has designated me as Sensei for his brood. I'll even be living in the Tower." Baki kept his expression smooth as his colleagues paled around him. He wouldn't mention his seat on the Council yet.

The other jonin immediately expressed their sympathy at his new assignment. 

"Ah man, you've got terrible luck." That was Akio who was quickly followed by Hayao who said, "Better you than me." 

Even Yura piped in with, "Hey, can I have your katana collection when, well, you know..."

Baki merely took advantage of their dire predictions. "Fellas, if you think I'm a dead man walking, then at least turn this into a wake and buy me my drinks. It could be your last chance."

His friends obliged and they walked to a local bar, all grumbling about the fact that Baki always managed to get them to buy his drinks. The Wind Sword Master merely smirked at their observation. He'd use his new status on the Council as a future ticket for congratulatory drinks.

At the bar, the conversation turned to current women they were chasing and tactics for surviving their next mission. Baki didn't intend to get drunk, but his large size meant that he could imbibe several drinks before getting too inebriated. Luckily he was feeling very relaxed when Hiroko made her appearance. 

"Excuse me," he murmured before walking away from the table to go to the bar. Hiroko conveniently had a seat empty on either side of her, but Baki chose to sit to her left so she would be unobscured from his vision. She was a tall woman, but he still towered over her. 

"Baki, I see you've got a new look. You pull it off well." 

"But not well enough to resume our--"

"I'm sorry, Baki, but your scars remind me too much of the burns on my father."

Leave it to Hiroko to get to the point. He knew she still had nightmare's about seeing her father's burned corpse. Baki sighed because that was not something he could change. "I understand, Hiroko, but it still doesn't take the sting out of being dumped."

"Then let me buy you a drink," said Hiroko. She called for two cups to be brought and poured sake for them.

"Be honest, Baki. We were together more out of practicality than passion. Even when we talked about marriage, it sounded more like a business arrangement. I might hurt your pride, but you can't say I've broken your heart."

"So it's back to just being friends?" The words carried more pain more than he had expected. His life had been on a path, now everything about his future was shifting.

"It's all I can offer you now and still be true to myself," admitted Hiroko with a sad smile. She turned to look at him as she explained. "One thing being with you has taught me is that I do want that passion, that love. I know you can make it hard for me to find someone else. All the men I'd be interested in know you, most of them fear you."

Baki thought of the irony of the situation. Here he was secretly betrothed to the Kazekage's daughter while Hiroko was worried about how he could sabotage her own chance for marriage. The bitter edge fell away from him. 

"We've been friends longer than we've been lovers, Hiroko. It'll take time, but I can revert. Just don't expect me to help you find a date."

"Fair enough and I'll owe you a big favor." She picked up her drink and raised it in a toast. "If this lowly chunin can ever help Mitsuki no Baki, elite jonin, Wind Sword Master, and Marshal of the East, you can count on me." 

Baki raised his cup in response. As he drank the sake, he felt that he was offering a toast to his old life. He felt as if he had been captured by an unfamiliar wind current. He just hoped it didn't signify a sandstorm.

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_Sunagakure: Time Zero_

Baki walked up the stairs to the fifth level of the Kazekage's Tower. The circular floor held four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. A large common area in the center could be used as a lounge or training area as needed. It also had a small kitchen that held a table with a laundry tucked away in the corner. 

Although the furnishings were old, this was true luxury compared to the barracks. This had been the first year that Gaara had lived with his siblings, but the Kazekage had decided shared quarters could facilitate building the team. Two sensei's had failed; Baki hoped that three would be the magic number.

The jonin met his new charges as they sat on cushions in the common area, all dressed in dark netted shirt and trousers. The table in front of them held a pitcher of water, a basket of fruit, and a shallow bowl with a miniature sand garden. The blonde-haired girl was artfully raking an intricate pattern in the sand. The brunette by her side grabbed two apples from the fruit basket, but the red-head sat perfectly still, although he glowered at his surroundings.

Gaara drew Baki's immediate attention with his cold expression while the other boy began absently juggling the apples in his hands. Kankuro threw Baki a suspicious glance, then ignored him. Temari, who was dressed like her brothers, rose boldly to her feet and although she was still a child, her eyes took his measure in a way reminiscent of the Kazekage.

"You're the new sensei?" asked Temari. Baki could swear he heard a dubious tone in her voice.

"So it would seem. I am Mitsuki no Baki."

"Why you?" asked the blonde as she cocked her head to one side.

"Maybe the Kazekage wants him dead, you know?" ventured Kankuro as he sent one of the apples on a forceful trajectory toward the jonin's head with a chakra string. 

"The Kazekage thinks I can teach you," replied Baki as he generated chakra strings to capture the apple and its mate still in Kankuro's hand. He juggled them manually before sending them back to the boy where they bounced with a sharp rap on Kankuro's head before falling to his lap.

The jonin had barely finished releasing the fruit before he had to repel the strong gust of wind generated by a feminine wave of a fan. He countered it with his own forceful breeze and sent the girl tumbling over in a somersault.

Temari brought herself up to a crouch. She was clearly annoyed, but there was a tone of admiration in her voice as she finally noted the tattoos on his face. "You're a Wind Sword Master!" 

"I've mastered wind, but I can use chakra strings and even," began the jonin as he shifted the sand in the bowl without a rake, "have some ability to manipulate sand."

Gaara finally spoke in a harsh voice, "There's nothing you can teach me about the sand."

The attack was sudden, but not unexpected even though Gaara was sitting in Baki's blind side. As the sand darted forth, the boy asked roughly, "Why should I let you make us a team?" 

Baki ejected the water in the pitcher on the table into a fountain with a burst of his chakra. The dampened sand fell into a limp tentacle that still slithered toward him. 

"You'll let me create this team because you like to kill." Baki looked directly at Gaara. "Your missions with your team will give you the opportunity to ease your blood lust without the village losing any more citizens."

Baki looked at each one in turn. "Any fool can kill; a ninja, in contrast, must be a useful tool for the village. The Kazekage has given me the job of honing you as tools. I don't intend to fail."

"You're not afraid that I'll kill you?" asked Gaara in his harsh voice.

"I'm not afraid of dying," replied Baki with a sardonic smile. "You know firsthand that there are worse things than death."

The sand began to swirl around Gaara menacingly, but Baki maintained his cold attitude.

Temari put her hand on her hips and said quite calmly, "Don't kill him yet, Gaara. Let's see what Sensei can teach us first."

Kankuro quirked an eyebrow and closed one eye as if considering before giving the slightest nod. Gaara said nothing, but the sand retreated fully into the gourd. 

Team Baki was thus formed. It was the first time the three siblings had agreed on anything.

_End Chapter 1_

Author Notes: 

I added some minor edits to fill in details on Baki given information I created in the subsequent stories in this Wind series. For first time readers, Mitsuki means three months which is the closest to three moons. It will make sense later. I also gave him a title of Marshal since he carries so much authority. None of this is canon.

I am keeping the conversation 'Americanized' for the most part because that's how I hear the anime.

I've gotten intrigued by the Sand nins, especially Team Baki, so I'm playing with the characters. I'll try to not to stray too far from canon, but it's inevitable I'll make a few errors.

We don't know much about Baki, so I created a background for him to explain why he drapes his face and the significance of the markings on his face. Hiroko is not a canon character, nor were the other Sand nins I named except for Yura. He shows up in Shippuden. 

The Kazekage is deliberately presented as a cold-hearted man. Whether his wife, Karura, was his student at one time was merely used to drive the plot. And don't get all squicky about Baki being 'betrothed' to Temari; it's a device to drive certain aspects of the story.

I've taken the liberty to create the quarters in the Kazekage's Tower and to make Temari a tomboy at first. Also at this initial meeting, Kankuro has yet to dress like a puppeteer. I hope I have kept them within the parameters of their characters, though.

Thus far I have 6 chapters. Thank you for taking the time to read. Reviews aren't necessary, but if there is something you like about the story, I do like knowing what works.


	2. The Toolshed

Summary: The Siblings adjust to Baki while the Sensei in turn learns that his students aren't just tools.

**DRY WINDS**

_**The Toolshed**_

_Sunagakure: Year One_

Baki was always slightly amused when he saw the Sand Siblings together. Although all had different hair color, they each carried features of the Kazekage's face, especially Kankuro. They were like variant clones of their father presented as the light, the dark, and the bloody. The three wore dark pants and long-sleeved shirts, which merely served to emphasize how scrawny the girl was compared to her brothers. She was a little tomboy, but the girl's one vanity was making sure her hair was always in place.

One morning as Temari ran to the lounge tying up the last bundle of strands, Baki asked her, "Do you know the significance of the way you wear your hair?"

The blonde stopped suddenly and almost knocked into Gaara. This gaff allowed Kankuro to interject, "That she can't count higher than four? Ow! That hurts, you know."

Temari was satisfied by the whack she'd given her brother with her fan. "Want to see how high I can count by how many times I hit your head?"

"Sensei asked you a question, so quit stalling. Bet you don't know, do you?" taunted Kankuro.

Temari turned away from her brother in annoyance. He was a dope, but an observant one. "My nurse began tying my hair this way since I was four."

"You were demonstrating your talent to manipulate wind by then I'd wager," began Baki. At Temari's nod, he continued. "The four winds, Temari: Kita, Minami, Kochi, Seifuu. Your nurse was acting on Suna folklore where binding the hair into four sections is supposed to help the sand nin master the wind."

Temari touched her hair and her face lit up. "I won't believe in superstition, Sensei. Talent becomes stronger through hard work, but just in case, I'll keep my hair the way it is."

Kankuro couldn't resist his question as his mind interposed Temari's hair onto Baki, "Hey, Sensei, do you have--." 

"No."

Kankuro fell silent for a moment then added, "But did you ever have--"

"No." Baki turned to walk out of the Tower fully expecting his students to follow him.

Temari was soon bombarding the Sensei with questions about wind control and that left Kankuro walking beside Gaara. That was never any fun; one didn't tease this little brother.

So Kankuro was very surprised when Gaara volunteered, "It's shaved."

"What?" Kankuro always found his brother's statements a bit creepy.

"Baki. He's always shaved his head." 

"Yeah, and how would you know?" The boy wasn't quite sure he wanted to know, but Gaara rarely initiated a conversation unless it was to threaten him.

"There's a picture of him as a boy on his desk." Gaara's voice sounded rather casual considering the invasion of privacy. Kankuro and Temari were scared to even peek into their Sensei's room. The next words sent a shiver up Kankuro's spine. "I walked into his room one night when the moon was bright. I watched him sleeping."

"Aaah, okay, so you saw Baki unwrapped. Cool," muttered Kankuro with a strained laugh as he tried to alleviate the feeling of disquiet. "Um, so what stopped you from, you know, smothering him."

"He said something." Gaara spoke without emotion.

Kankuro was now very curious about the incident. It had to have happened in the first month of their training. Since then on nights surrounding the full moon, the three took turns watching Gaara. "What did he say?"

"Coward."

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_Suna Training Grounds_

Baki made it clear to Temari that she would be worked harder than her brothers to maintain her position on the team. A typical day found the two of them alone after Kankuro had departed with Gaara just to give her more training.

"Kunoichi need to match the speed, stamina, and strength of their male counterparts. A scrawny girl like you needs to work on building arm muscles, especially to wield a fan." Baki spoke to his student while she was doing pull-ups. 

"I'm as good as any boy," began Temari. _Gasp, grunt, strain_. "And I'm smarter, too." _Pant, grunt_. "I'll be a jonin just like you, Sensei, and master the wind."

Baki looked at her suspiciously as she completed her set and landed gracefully on her feet. "Don't put me on a pedestal, girl."

"But Sensei, it's all the better to knock you down," she assured as she wiped at the sweat on her brow and turned to look at him. She said with conviction, "I intend to be strong enough with wind to beat even you."

"Then you should spend some time studying the scrolls." The Sensei was pleased by her response. It would take a lot of spirit to survive the Kazekage's plan for his daughter. "If you intend to best me when you're older, you better read up on chakra control of the four winds. You can move to atmospheric physics when you're older."

That directive made Temari cringe, but she merely nodded. She was beginning to see that what made Baki a good Sensei was his attention to all aspects of their training. He wasn't satisfied with physical results; he insisted on mental acuity as well. 

In turn, Baki was developing an appreciation for the girl's complexity. Despite her androgynous clothing, she still acted like the little mother. Temari made sure the boys were clean, dressed, and ate well. That left Baki to only worry about their training which pleased him no end. It was an odd partnership that the two were forming, but the girl was the key to creating a team among the Sand Siblings. The girl was like a fine tool, elegant in form, perfect in balance, but deadly in use.

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_Sunagakure Conservatory_

Kankuro was Baki's favorite student in that the boy was predictable; he had the normal propensities he remembered in himself as a boy. Although he worked diligently, he liked to show off, preened at any praise directed his way, and was likely to mouth off to the Sensei. Yes, it was all too familiar.

The puppeteer especially grumbled when the genin were put to use in rather mundane tasks. On one particular holiday, each sibling attended to separate duties. Temari had to serve a role at the formal ritual. Gaara was assigned to rake designs in the public rock garden. Baki and Kankuro had left the boy intent on recreating the mark he carried on his forehead into the sand of the _karesansui_. Baki intended to keep an eye on Gaara as soon as he escorted Kankuro to the greenhouse.

"Why do I have to pull weeds and pot these old plants? It's not puppet work."

"Would you rather join Temari at the _Sabaku no Kame Shikiten_?" asked Baki. The girl had been directed to join the other genin who had talent for wind to provide ventilation for the chambers where the long, formal, and incredibly dull ceremony of the Desert Tortoise was taking place.

"Heheh, Temari, ultimate fan girl, you know. Nope, don't have to be there to badger her about wearing that tortoise shell," said Kankuro with a satisfied grin. "Didn't you say that ceremony lasts from midnight to midnight?"

"Don't be such a sadist. That tortoise shell is heavy," admonished Baki.

"Yeah, but I bet you're glad you're not a genin stuck with that duty," Kankuro observed.

"It served as an inducement for making chunin at a young age," agreed Baki. "Now do whatever Chiyo directs and don't mouth back to her. She might be ancient, but she's got the power of a sandstorm if you make her angry. She only comes down once a year to see to the greenhouse and she likes things just so."

"Can I use Karasu?" asked Kankuro with just a hint of a whine in his voice.

"I recommend it. Some of the plants are quite poisonous. In fact, the poisons you use on your weapons are all derived from the ones we grow in the greenhouse." Baki knew he now had Kankuro's attention.

"Yeah? Well, maybe this won't be so bad, you know," muttered Kankuro. 

"Chiyo is an encyclopedia. Take care that you learn from her and then expand that by reading the scrolls on plants and poisons."

Kankuro grimaced. "Is that an order?"

"I can make it a punishment if you argue with me," reminded Baki. "And while you're at it, look through the scrolls on mechanics. You have an intuitive sense for how things operate, but you try to re-invent the wheel and that can waste time. Put some effort into studying instead. You'll learn how to use your chakra strings more efficiently on the mechanical parts of your puppets

Kankuro squinted one eye at his Sensei, but asked, "Are you making Temari hit the scrolls?"

"All of you will study. I refuse to work with ignorant goons who can't explain why their weapons work," said Baki. "Your best weapon will always be your brain.

To Baki's delight, the boy completed his assignment relatively unscathed by the Elder although he did keep rubbing the side of his head. It spoke well of Kankuro's talent that Chiyo had not dismantled his puppet. 

But then, in any other family the boy would be considered a prodigy given his talent with chakra strings, but that paled next to his demon-imbued brother. The boy was a complex tool, relying on gears and levers to execute deadly commands, but without proper lubrication, the parts would seize and the tool become useless. Baki came to understand that even a simple nod of approval was sufficient recognition for this tool to be well oiled. 

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_Sunagakure Courtyard_

Of the Sand Siblings, Baki considered Gaara to be the simplest. He lived for himself, he killed to please himself. Baki didn't intervene against the sporadic assassination attempts that still plagued Gaara. He even suspected that some still came with the Kazekage's blessing. No, it was best to let the boy assuage his bloodlust with those foolish enough to try.

Baki always monitored the outcome, of course, for he felt it important to document Gaara's abilities. There might come a time when the Sensei would have to confront the boy to defend the siblings--or himself. He didn't mention Gaara's midnight visit to his room, but he would be foolish to think all threat from the boy had passed. 

Gaara passively participated in training by learning about weapons and basic principles of chakra control, but he only provided minimal effort. The assassination attempts gave Baki the opportunity to actually see how Gaara's talents were developing.

It was after one such attempt that Baki took Gaara aside and handed him a scroll. "Study this."

Gaara read the label. "Minerals and Sand of Suna."

"Start with this then you can move to geochemistry. You could be more effective if you understood something about how to pull sand from your surroundings."

"I don't need this." Gaara let the scroll fall to the floor and started to walk away.

"Are you so afraid of a mental challenge?" asked Baki casually.

"I am no coward." Gaara half turned and the sand swirled around him. "I fear nothing."

"Except for knowledge," chided Baki with disgust clearly in his voice. "You let the Shukaku define everything about you. If you are anything like your brother and sister, you have a sharp mind, but you are letting it wither. Be a simpleton; it serves the demon well. Or learn to use your mind so that you can be the one in control."

Baki walked away from Gaara, but when he went to retrieve the scroll later that day, it was gone. The jonin was relieved that Gaara had taken the bait. At present he was a crude tool, like a sledgehammer, but the Sensei had hopes that over time, Gaara would become as elegant as Temari and as complex as Kankuro. 

Dealing with Gaara was a constant trial, but luckily, Temari could get Gaara to listen to her. It was the one behavior that reminded the jonin that the boy was indeed human. That and the ridiculous teddy bear the boy still had in his room. 

"It used to be mine," Temari explained to Baki when he first saw the stuffed bear. "I promised Mama I would give it to the new baby because then I'd be too big for it. Even after Mama died, I thought it was important to keep my promise."

"You learned a valuable lesson at a young age," assured Baki. The girl was a strange mixture of maturity and innocence, but then all three of the siblings were like that, even the deadly Gaara. 

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_The Tower_

The Kazekage maintained his distance from his children, often going months without seeing them although they lived in the same tower. Meals were delivered to the fifth floor by the staff at specific times, but Baki soon realized he needed to stock the refrigerator and cupboards in their little kitchen with food as well. The Kazekage was right about the three not being children: they were locusts, especially Kankuro. 

But the jonin was reminded that indeed they were all still children one day when Temari made a special request when they were on their shopping trip to the commissary. Kankuro would be left with Gaara while Temari went shopping with Baki. The girl knew her brothers' food preferences, so the Sensei merely served as an escort and to offer the Kazekage's seal for their purchases.

"Sensei, can I add this to the cart?" The girl pointed to a box that contained a kit to make fudge.

"Why?" asked Baki with a puzzled frown. The confection was not standard fare.

Temari threw a glance to a group of women who had been speaking to each other at the end of the aisle about the upcoming holiday. "Because today is February thirteenth."

Baki's one eye blinked at this bit of information. "Yes."

"Well, I've never given my brothers chocolate on Valentine's Day. Or my father." Temari stumbled over her words. "It's not like I expect them to reciprocate on White Day. Boys are such ungrateful dunderheads, after all."

"You're right, I expect they'd forget all about it. I'm not even certain that Kankuro knows about White Day." Baki frowned. These holidays had never been worth special notice in his life, although he roughly understood the concept. Even when he was with Hiroko, he had seen these gestures as impractical.

But then Temari very innocently used the oldest feminine trick in the book. She turned to him with the Look: a doe-eyed gaze full of yearning. "Please, I'd like to try just this once. The instructions don't seem too difficult. And even if Gaara doesn't like his fudge, Kankuro will eat anything."

Baki didn't protest when she slipped it into the cart. He even enforced her edict when she banished the male contingent from the premises that evening. It was a cold, but moonlit filled night, so it would be useful for the boys to train for night maneuvers. Besides, Baki hated being around females when they pursued 'Woman's Work'. 

"What's this?" asked Kankuro the next morning when he found a prettily wrapped box in front of his seat on the kitchen table. He picked it up and rattled it suspiciously. "Is this some booby-trap? It's not like you to be nice to me, you know."

"No, it's just Valentine's Day, you idiot," said Temari. "Men get chocolates."

"Ah, cool. It's a crow, right?" said Kankuro as he opened his. "Wow, a whole murder of crows."

As he stuffed the chocolate flock into his mouth, he mumbled, "Is there more?"

Temari smiled at seeing his pleasure, although she admonished, "Where are your manners, Kankuro! Don't talk with your mouth full." She turned to Gaara and said, "If you don't want yours, please give it to the human garbage disposal also known as your brother."

Gaara had removed the wrapping and was staring at the piece of fudge on the table. It was in the shape of his teddy bear. 

"That's one vicious looking bear, you know. Better decapitate it and dismember it," suggested Kankuro with a greedy eye. His hand hovered near the fudge.

Gaara looked at his brother and murmured. "Touch it and die."

"You kill it, then. Keep the head as a trophy and I'll destroy the rest of the evidence, you know." Kankuro figured Gaara would ignore him, but to his astonishment, Gaara did as his brother suggested.

As Kankuro stuffed the pudgy morsel of fudge into his mouth, he turned to Baki. "What's in your box, Sensei?"

Baki finally realized there was another box on the table. He had assumed Temari was taking it to the Kazekage, but it clearly had his name on the tag. He found it amusing that he fell under the definition of 'brother' for Temari. He opened it to find a chocolate headband with the Suna symbol carved into the fudge.

"You don't have to eat it, Sensei," said Temari said with a tenuous laugh. "I didn't know if you liked chocolate."

"I'll take it," said Kankuro, but before his greedy paws could reach for it, Baki broke it in half and tossed one portion to Kankuro who quickly captured it with a chakra string. 

Baki popped the remainder into his mouth with the excuse, "Best not to attract ants. Now, enough of this foolishness. It's time to get to work." 

The siblings rose from the table grumbling, except for the quiet Gaara. The fudge was stuck to the roof of his mouth.

One month later on White Day, Temari found a single package for her at the table. It contained nothing more than a small origami fan made of white paper. Her name was written neatly in kanji on it, but she could see a distinctive fingerprint of a pinky, probably left from _ogure_, the red bean paste Kankuro preferred, on one end. She didn't squeal over finding it, but gently hugged the fan to her chest with a big smile before storing it carefully in her room.

Baki thought her response was well worth the effort of brow-beating Kankuro into folding the lines perfectly. He had even been surprised when Gaara had silently pushed his brother aside with his sand to write Temari's name with perfect brush strokes. Before walking away, the boy had merely said, "Your handwriting is atrocious." 

The girl would treasure each of the paper fans that she found on White Day for the rest of her life. 

_End Chapter 2_

**Author Note:**

I hope I was able to convey the different sorts of tools Baki sees in his students to a profoundly 'childish' expression of affection at least between Temari and Kankuro. I would expect Baki to be like others in Sunagakure who didn't particularly like Gaara during his younger years. But I think he would be one of the few people to speak to him bluntly. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wondered about Temari's hairdo, so I created the folktale._ Kita, Minami, Kochi, Seifuu_ are the best translations I found for north, south, east and west winds, although I dropped the kaze and yori. 

The _Sabaku no Kame Shikiten_ is not canon (I probably messed up word order). I wanted a name for a long, boring, formal ceremony and I thought a desert tortoise would be a great symbol. And it's fun to imagine a young Temari waving her fan while encumbered by a large tortoise shell.

Chiyo shows up in Shippuden, but the thought of her directly interacting with a young Kankuro made me smile. I thought their encounter would be best left to the reader's imagination, though. And when you think of it, Gaara's ability to carve the Love into his skin so neatly bespeaks of great handwriting, so I used it that idea for his chore.

And the last bit was fluffy without the sibs suddenly bonding over fudge. They don't thank each other, Gaara's participation is rather passive, but I think it's little events like this that eventually allow Gaara to rely on his sibs. Baki's attitude is too still label such behavior as overtly foolish. 

Thanks for reading this new chapter. And to CrazyMayhem, inochie, and Danie, thank you for your encouragement. Reviews aren't necessary (I'll post the chapters regardless of them), but I do appreciate the time you spent writing them.


	3. Lessons in Cool

Summary: Crusty crabs and lightning strikes, aka, learning to keep your cool

**DRY WINDS**

_**Lessons in Cool**_

_Sunagakure: Year Two_

"Your task is to clean off the walls along this channel, including the branches," explained Baki. He stood with his genin by the ladder at the entry to the sewer system below Sunagakure. The tunnel walls seemed to be oozing with muck. "I specifically requested it as your mission." 

Baki had to smirk at the wrinkled noses before him. Three identical expressions of disgust peered back at him. The three were particularly annoyed that their Sensei still looked cool.

"It should be illegal to use genin like this, you know," grumbled Kankuro. He looked at Temari's rather green complexion and put an arm around her shoulders to support her--or keep her from escaping their mutual fate.

Temari suddenly put her hand to her mouth and said, "I'm going to be--_uurk_." .

Luckily for Baki, Kankuro pointed his sister in the opposite direction. Gaara, in the meantime, had distanced himself as much as possible from his siblings. Unfortunately, that brought him closer to the walls.

The jonin wiped Temari's face none too gently. It wouldn't serve to pamper the girl. "Too weak to run with the boys, Temari?"

Her eyes flashed in anger, but she replied, "I ate something bad at breakfast. I can handle this assignment."

"Good. This exercise is to train you to control strong emotions. Look at yourselves. An opponent could read you easily, even Gaara is disgusted by the odor. If any one of you fails to control your expressions, you'll be assigned this duty on consecutive days until you do. "

"And how's anyone gonna know?" asked Kankuro. "Hey, wait, why isn't the stench getting to you, Sensei?"

"I can use wind control to create a personal ventilation system to surround me." Baki used a flash of chakra to highlight the bubble of flowing air around him. "So, yes, I'll be watching you."

"You don't have to be so devoted to your job, you know?" grumbled Kankuro.

"It's one of my many faults," replied Baki with a smirk. 

"I can create my own wind mask," said Temari brightly. She performed a jutsu and soon had a bubble of circulating air as a mask. 

"There is no challenge to this," scoffed Gaara as his sand armor formed a mask of sand for him.

Kankuro used a different approach. He pulled out an herbal ointment from one of Karasu's limbs and rubbed that under his nostrils. When Temari quirked her eyebrow in question, he merely said, "Mendol."

Temari didn't understand her brother's garbled explanation, so Baki explained, "Menthol, to mask the strong odor. Now that you've seen to your masks, you need to think about your tools for scouring the walls."

Rather than use the precious sand in his gourd, Gaara summoned fresh sand to the chamber and set to his task of scouring the upper ceiling. Temari used her fan to send air waves at high pressure to clean her side of the tunnel. 

"You know, I'b not gebbing my bubbet dirby on dis tuf," Kankuro insisted.

"Here," said Baki as he opened a side door near the ladder. He tossed two scraping shovels to the boy. "You can use these and keep your puppet pristine."

The boy replied with a grunt, but was soon manipulating the tools quite effectively with chakra strings.

Baki nodded in satisfaction before giving his one caution. "Don't let the sewer crabs prevent you from doing your job. Their pincers are strong and they're camouflaged by the same crust you're cleaning off the walls."

"Crusty crabs?" asked Temari skeptically. "Sensei, are you making this up?"

The jonin merely gave them that sardonic smile they had come to dread . 

It took Temari and Kankuro two days to keep a straight expression through their task. They would have made it on the first day until the siblings discovered that the crusty crabs were real. And the size of a desert tortoise. And liked to cling to the ceiling. And moved silently. And foraged in swarms.

"_Aaaeeii_!" 

Baki couldn't tell whether Temari or Kankuro was screaming louder. He even heard a gasp escape from Gaara.

The Sensei was actually impressed by the impromptu teamwork the genin exhibited. Temari sent a blast of air that dislodged crabs from the ceiling while Kankuro pulled them off with chakra strings and hurled them away. That left Gaara to use sand to encase the flying crabs before a satisfying _crunch_ reverberated in the tunnel.

As they exited the service entrance to the sewers at the end of the second day, their mood was very bright. Kankuro and Temari were deliberately bumping into each other as they teased one another about the crabs. Even Gaara seemed to have a satisfied expression at putting an end to sewer duty. 

Kankuro broke away from his sister and challenged them all to a race back to the Tower as they rounded the corner of the water treatment plant. Baki almost felt as if he were dealing with any normal team of genin. 

That's what made the assassination attempt on Gaara so much more unexpected. Kankuro saw the danger first and so called to warn the others. "It's a trap!"

Temari was completely surprised to find her brother falling back into her arms with several kunai stabbed deeply into his side. "Kankuro!"

But all she could do was catch him so he wouldn't fall and push the kunai deeper into his body.

"Hold onto him, Temari." The jonin gave his order coolly as he moved in front of them to dispatch another swordsman. He demonstrated the deadly efficiency of the Wind Sword while he called, "Gaara!"

The two siblings turned their attention to their little brother as he stoically eliminated another three assassins . The sand moved to surround them and a fisted movement completed the Desert Coffin jutsu. 

A motion above them caught Temari's attention as she averted her gaze. "On the roof, to the right!"

One assassin had maintained his perch on the rooftop. He now took advantage of the carnage of his comrades to flee, but Gaara's sand was in close pursuit until Baki ordered, "That one is mine, Gaara."

From the kunai strapped all over the jacket, it was easy to determine this was the one who had wounded Kankuro. Gaara's sand retreated for the moment in part because the three assassins had fed the blood lust and curiosity about their Sensei's combat skills.

A quick jutsu released a shock wave that made the wall of the building undulate so that the last assassin's escape was prevented. Baki was immediately on the rooftop behind the man. The siblings below barely saw the fatal strike; the one thing registering was the man's head as it fell to the ground.

Temari and Kankuro were still staring at it when they realized Baki was back with them. He took the the boy from his sister's arms. "Meet me at the hospital after you notify Yura to get this mess cleaned up."

"But, he's my brother," began Temari.

"I can get him there faster; he's losing a lot of blood." 

"I'll be all right, sis, don't be so bossy with Sensei," whispered Kankuro as he finally succumbed. The jonin vanished in the next instant.

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_Suna Hospital_

When Baki met the siblings later at the hospital, they still had to wait for the outcome of the surgery. Gaara merely stared out the window, but Temari was clearly agitated as she paced back and forth. When her youngest brother suddenly left, she voiced her thoughts.

"Gaara could at least stay until he finds out if Kankuro will be all right," muttered Temari. "Not that he cares."

Baki looked at the her and observed, "At least he came with you."

Temari stopped in her tracks. "Did you tell Father?"

"The Kazekage has been informed," replied Baki stoically although he hid his own anger. He had expected something more than the indifferent note the Kazekage had sent to him. "I am to notify him of the outcome."

"You mean he won't even come wait?"

"The Kazekage has duties," replied Baki. "You are shinobi. You must accept the fact that death awaits you on any mission."

"But this wasn't a mission! We were home; it should be safe," Temari was clearly exasperated.

"Consider what Gaara must live with," reminded Baki. His cold voice offered no sympathy for the demon vessel. "The assassins serve his need to kill, but the fact that these attempts occur even in Sunagakure means that he is not safe anywhere--except for the Tower. That is the one safe haven we have."

Temari sat down on the bench and brought her knees up, then turned her back to the jonin as she wrapped her arms around them. "Gaara's curse isn't just his problem anymore, is it?"

"It never was. From the day he was born, the manifestation of Shukaku has been a burden for Suna," explained Baki. "But now it is clear that those who would eliminate him would not spare his family."

"Gaara doesn't even acknowledge our family ties," said Temari with a note of sadness. "So we have to become paranoid, constantly looking over our shoulder?"

"You have to be on guard, yes, but paranoia only makes one mentally unstable." 

"You'll be training us harder now, right? I mean if--if Kankuro doesn't--"

"You must always be ready to accept the death of a teammate," said Baki. "Even if he is your brother." 

"Is this another lesson in emotional training?" she asked bitterly.

"No shinobi is indispensable; no shinobi is irreplaceable. We are all tools, Temari. If that is not the life you want, then tell your father and I will remove you from the team. You have other options."

"No, I won't abandon my brothers. I won't be some weak girl that an assassin can use against them," Temari replied with conviction. Again, her mature insight impressed the jonin. 

She shifted so that her back now leaned against her Sensei's shoulder. Temari's voice sounded very much like the young girl she was as she asked, "Will he be all right?"

Baki was not given to emotional displays; the most he could do was to not move away as she leaned lightly against him. He should not be the one to extend assurances about the outcome. Still, the Sensei offered what comfort he could.

"Kankuro is healthy, his chakra is strong--and I haven't finished training him yet. He wouldn't dare die on me."

The last comment put a gentle smile on Temari's face. It was the sort of comfort she could accept. 

When Kankuro finally woke up, it was to find Baki standing in the corner looking stern. "Sensei? Where's Temari?"

"I sent her home to get some sleep. She'll be here in the morning; you're in no shape for company."

"Yeah, right," replied Kankuro as his eyes drifted closed again. He was silent for a moment before he asked, "Father?"

"He's been notified that you came out of surgery."

"He'd just be mad at me, you know, for messing up," sighed Kankuro. 

"Go back to sleep, Kankuro, and don't indulge in a pity party. If you had messed up, I would have let you bleed out on the spot."

Baki's cold voice was oddly reassuring to Kankuro. He felt as if his Sensei were treating him like another jonin, so he fell asleep with his lips curled into a smile.

Gaara arrived with Temari when Kankuro was released, although Kankuro attributed that to seeing for himself that his favorite target for death threats was still alive. None of the siblings were upset when their father didn't show up because it vindicated their predictions. The episode had taught them a valuable lesson. There was only one adult the siblings could rely on and that man was not their father.

"Time to quit lazing around, Kankuro. Let's go home," said Baki. He walked out the door fully expecting his students to follow.

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_The Tower_

It was about a week after Kankuro had been released from the hospital that a strong thunderstorm ripped through Sunagakure late at night. The lightning strokes were brilliant and the reverberations of the thunder seemed to rock the tower. Typical for the desert, it was a lightning storm without rain.

After the second loud clap, Temari flew out of her room with a blanket wrapped to cover her head like a hood. She could see her Sensei's silhouette outlined by the flash as he stood in the center of the lounge to look out the large window above the stairs. Her one thought was to reach safety.

Unfortunately, Kankuro had a similar idea although his head was covered by his feline sleeping cap. Their paths intersected with their little brother who stood completely still in the middle of the room behind their Sensei.

_Thump. Plop._

Baki turned around in time to see Temari and Kankuro looking up in fear as the next flash of lightning illuminated the very annoyed expression on their little brother.

"Gaara? I didn't, we're sorry, it's just the storm, uh..." began Temari.

"I thought Temari might be scared, you know, so I left my room to check," explained Kankuro.

"You liar! I'm the eldest; I was coming to check on you, fraidy cat!" defended Temari.

The next flash of lightning ended the dispute. It was so close that it seemed to be just outside the tower. Temari and Kankuro both jumped closer to where Baki stood.

"Keep a lid on it, Gaara," said Baki calmly as he turned again to look out the window. "A lightning strike to sand can create a fulgurite, it leaves an imprint of glass in the sand." He pointed to the cliffs they could see out of the window. "The smooth green streaks on the cliffs are created that way. We'll find there's more after tonight."

As if at their Sensei's command, two bolts of lightning struck the cliffs. Baki could now feel Temari at his elbow while Kankuro felt no shame at plopping himself down near his feet. Even Gaara moved a step closer to the others as if considering the harm that nature could do to his precious sand.

"It doesn't bother you, Sensei?" asked Temari. 

"Think of it as another exercise in emotional training. Keep your thoughts calm and your breathing steady so that you'll feel safe even in a tempest. And then you can appreciate its beauty."

The siblings said not another word. Huddled near their Sensei, they felt safe enough to learn to see the beauty of the storm.

_End Chapter 3_

**Author Note:**

Temari mentions emotional training to Shikamaru as the chunin waits news on Chouji and Neiji. It made me think of situations where the Suna genin got the practice. Still, the comment was a bit ironic considering how upset Temari got when Gaara was losing his cool.

We are familiar with the menial tasks the Konoha genin had to do, so I thought the sewer duty was reasonable (but it was inspired by a White Wizard in Modesitt's Recluce series). I'm not good at action scenes, so I gave the minimum to dispatching the assassins. That part of the story just appeared as I was writing. 

A fulgurite is sometimes called petrified lightning, but is a real phenomenon. It does leave a glassy feature. The dry lightning storms are quite beautiful in the desert. The precipitation never makes it to the ground.

Thank for continuing to read this story, with a special nod to Danie, doryishness and the person who left a review with the name label of hi. Thanks for the encouragement. And now that we have Baki on the character list, I'll make sure to designate his character for the story.


	4. Symbols of Service

Summary: This wasn't in the Sensei job description. 

**DRY WINDS**

_**Symbols of Service**_

_Sunagakure: Year Two_

Baki was feeling in a vile mood this morning. Yura, a fellow jonin, was bragging about convincing the Council to refurbish the jonin barracks. This was an issue that Baki had been manipulating behind the scenes since he acquired his Council seat. But to hear Yura tell it, the Council had finally approved the expenditure because Yura was now in charge of the barracks.

Worse was to hear Yura bragging about his success with his latest female conquest, who was none other than Hiroko. Yes, Baki's former lover and best friend had succumbed to Yura's charms. Yura had been a bit of a pest before, but he was quickly transforming into a rival. 

So the Sensei was not in the best of moods when he heard the latest altercation between Temari and Kankuro.

"I tripped on your puppet!" she screamed at her brother.

"You shouldn't have been sneaking into my room, you know," countered Kankoru.

"I was bringing you fresh towels, you ungrateful moron." She flung one at his face.

"Hah! You mean you were making sure I got the old, ratty towels so you could get the nice, plushie ones!" Kankuro was waving the towel in one hand. 

Gaara merely watched as the argument stopped when Baki grabbed them both by the scruff of their shirts and separated them, their feet dangling in the air. 

"Do you want another day in the sewers to lean to control your emotions?" The jonin set them on their feet. "And learn a lesson from Gaara. You don't need to raise your voice to make your point."

The two looked over at Gaara who now crossed his arms over his chest. If there was one thing Baki liked about him, it was his taciturn nature. In fact, that was probably the only thing the Sensei liked about the boy.

"When there's a problem, fix it. Temari, I'll hear you first."

"Kankuro needs to put his puppets away."

"It's not like I have proper hooks in my room for storing them, you know," defended the puppeteer.

Baki suddenly smirked as he considered how to turn this squabble into a special training mission for his genin. Furthermore, it would serve to put a blemish on Yura's bragging rights. The supplies he needed were just waiting for the taking. 

"Hooks sound like a good solution. We can procure them and a tool kit from supplies at the jonin barracks." 

"Procure?" queried Gaara.

"Isn't that a euphemism for stealing?" asked Temari.

"Stealing? From the jonin? Cool!" said Kankuro with glee.

"But we can buy things at the commissary," reminded Temari.

"Raiding the barracks is practically a tradition in Suna. If the jonin can't protect their compound, it will be a good lesson for them and good training in stealth for you. So here's the deal. You nab the items I need and I'll put in the hooks. Now what was the other part of the argument about?"

Kankuro kept silent because he thought his complaint was rather unmanly. This did not deter his sister.

"We only have two good towels, Sensei. Kankuro's right, the rest of them are only good for rags."

Baki looked at the pathetic cloth that the boy twisted in his hand. "The barracks laundry is getting new towels; we'll add them to the procurement list."

"And curtains?" asked Temari suddenly. She seemed to blush, but found the gumption to proceed. "The commissary has pretty lilac curtains on sale." 

She looked at the incredulous stares she garnered from the males in her proximity. It made her more determined. "Just because I dress like a boy doesn't mean I'm not a girl!"

"Temari, I think--" Baki's protests died in his throat when Temari used the Look. Damn, he really needed to develop an immunity to that. He tried to resume his stern demeanor. "It would be a bother. You'd have to get the hardware I need from the barracks." 

Temari now added a bright smile, so Baki hardened his voice. "Such an indulgent purchase from the commissary would also require extra work."

"I'll do all the laundry for a month," Temari promptly said. 

"You know, that sounds fair to me, Sensei. Let her have her stupid girly curtains," agreed Kankuro. It would give him something to tease his sister about.

Gaara was silent, but offered a shrug of indifference, so Baki conceded. "Laundry duty is yours. Anything else?"

Baki had asked his last question sarcastically, but all were dumbstruck when Gaara went to his bedroom door and opened it.

_Squeak, squeak._ The red-head merely moved the door closed and opened. _Squeak, squeak._ Gaara stared at his Sensei and said plaintively, "It's very annoying."

"I'll fix the door, too," said Baki, "but you have to get the new hinges without deadly force. Understand, Gaara?"

The boy gave the barest nod of affirmation. 

"Very well. Tonight you become the _Kaitou_, phantom raiders of Suna."

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_The Tower, Level 5 Kitchen_

The raid on the jonin barracks was quite successful and Sunagakure was abuzz with the news. It was the consensus that someone was trying to reinstate the _Kaitou_ tradition where items from the jonin compound were stolen as a sort of trophy. Baki was amused that no one suspected his team of genin or realized that the jonin barracks had not been breached since Baki had been a chunin. 

Furthermore, Baki was able to trade information on the problems with barracks' security for free drinks. But what he really enjoyed was how his colleagues were taunting Yura about his failure to protect the supplies. It was very satisfying indeed--until Baki saw Hiroko comforting Yura on his bad luck. 

About a week later in the morning, the Sand Siblings found the Sensei's long legs protruding from under the sink in their small kitchenette. 

"The first one who tries anything is going to get drowned in sewer water," Baki promised as soon as he sensed their entry. 

Even Gaara stepped back at this proclamation. Kankuro pulled back Karasu from his intention of having the puppet bind Baki's ankles together. Temari turned her fan to her face rather than to send the miso soup spilling onto his lap with a gust of wind.

"There, that should stop the dripping." Baki pulled himself from under the sink and added, "Water is too precious to waste with bad plumbing."

"My toilet takes forever to fill up again, you know," said Kankuro. "Should you fix that, too?"

"The faucet on my sink doesn't turn off all the way and it doesn't drain well, either." Temari smirked at her brother and added, "And since I'm the eldest, mine should get fixed first."

"Hmph, your sink probably has a hair ball plugging it up, you know," suggested Kankuro. 

"A hair ball of mine would still look better than the mop on your head."

Baki ignored the bickering pair and turned expectantly to Gaara to hear his complaint. The boy walked to his room and they all followed him through to his bathroom. 

_Plop, plop_. 

Gaara pointed at the shower head and said, "It's very annoying."

"Luckily for you, the jonin barracks just received the plumbing supplies," began Baki. "We'll have a procurement mission for a new toilet, sink, and shower head, but it will be tougher than last time. These items are larger, heavier, and the jonin have tightened security. The _Kaitou_ must wear masks this time."

As Baki predicted, sneaking in was easier than their retreat. Kankuro used Karasu to collect the items on the list while Gaara used his sand to carry them away. That left Temari to cover their retreat as she sent wind gusts to wrap the jonin, sleeping or otherwise, in their own blankets. She was doing an effective job until she tripped on a loose floorboard. 

It was her bad luck that she fell across the lap of a very irritated Yura who had gotten tangled in one of the flying blankets. "You brat! I'll teach you to make fools of the jonin!"

Temari bit back a yelp as she felt the the sharp slap across her rump. No one had ever spanked her! 

In the next moment, she was released as Baki's fist connected with Yura's jaw. Temari heard him murmur, "That felt good," before her Sensei hauled her to her feet and they made their escape.

After installing the new bathroom fixtures, Baki had the gall to get Yura to buy him a drink for his analysis of the latest _Kaitou_ raid the next evening.

"I'd suspect at least ten of them, probably chunin level," began Baki as he sipped his drink, before adding with a casual shrug, "or it could be a highly talented genin team of three with speed to compensate for numbers."

"Hm, the one I caught was young and slender, no muscle yet, really. But no genin could outwit us!" Yura fingered his bruise and added, "Besides, that burly sonofabitch with a mean left hook was the size of a mountain. No way he was genin. Chunin level, definitely. Yes, ten sounds about right."

Baki kept complete control of his features as he enjoyed his drink. He was willing to have some fun at the expense of Yura's arrogance. Besides, the man now had Hiroko to ease his distress. Actually, Baki was bothered more by Yura touching Temari than his old flame, so the episode helped put things in perspective. 

The Sensei had to admit that he was slowly learning to appreciate the genin under his care. He had never had a better set of Kaitou raiders. He tried to maintain his distance by telling himself they were merely tools. But his genin were making progress and soon he would be called upon to help shape the expression of their emerging identities. 

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_The Tower_

About a month later the siblings paths diverged for a week. Baki announced this as the genin assembled in the lounge of the Tower to learn about their current mission.

"Gaara, the Kazekage summons you to his office. Pack for travel, I understand you'll be gone with him for about a week." 

"Father wants me?" Gaara voiced his question skeptically.

"Better you than me, bro," murmured Kankuro. 

Gaara frowned as he walked to his room to make ready, but Temari called, "Wait, Gaara, let me help you pack..."

In the lounge, Kankuro lodged his complaint to Baki. "Hang on, does this mean we've got more work do to or less? If we have to take up the slack for him, it's not fair, you know." 

"No, as a matter of fact, you get puppet duty, Kankuro. The Daimyo is throwing a series of parties for the children of Suna to celebrate his youngest son's birthday. Uemura, the _omozukai_ master, needs help for the puppet shows this week. I'm confident you can replace both of his assistants. You'll report to the theatre every day to work on the _bunraku_ shows."

A bright smile lit up his face and Kankuro took the stairs out two at a time yelling, "No sister! No brother! Puppets! Puppets!"

In contrast to his brother, Gaara walked sedately out of his room and down the steps to see to his assignment in complete silence. Temari stood by the Sensei and sighed loudly. "I don't suppose there's any special duty for me this week? Wait, don't tell me there's another ritual for the Desert Tortoise?"

"No, but this gives us a chance to focus on the control of wind. Ready to learn how to fly, Temari?" asked Baki.

"Fly? Am I supposed to flap two fans around like wings or something? Kankuro will really love that sight; I'll never hear the end of it." Temari grimaced just thinking about it.

"The idea is to use your larger fan to glide on the wind," explained Baki as he used his hand to accentuate the image.

"Ah, now that would look cool," replied Temari with a grin. "But I've never seen you use a fan for that, Sensei."

"I don't need one," said Baki. Then a familiar smirk appeared as he added, "I can use my chakra to wind surf, but for you, that will have to come later."

The girl held a bright smile before following her Sensei down the stairs. "Wind power rocks!"

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_Sunagakure Cliffs_

"You definitely need a bigger fan," declared Baki three days later as he critically reviewed Temari's gliding. "You have good wind control, but a larger surface area would provide better aerodynamics for your mass so you could stay up longer."

Temari gracefully leapt off her fan and looked at it critically. It had seemed large when she first acquired it, but now it stood just above her waist. Before she could say anything about a replacement fan, they were interrupted by a messenger.

"Marshal Baki, you must come at once. Your grandfather, Shimaku, collapsed when he was with the Siblings. Chiyo helped him, but he refused to be taken to hospital and insisted on being returned to his house."

Baki's lips tightened as he considered the quirky personality of the old man. "Temari, I'll have to see to Grandfather myself. He has rather peculiar ideas."

Temari just nodded and followed her Sensei. He never spoke of his family, so this was a good chance to feed her curiosity. They were soon at the outskirts of Sunagakure and entered a house that was carved out of the cliffs. 

It was clear that Baki knew his away around the home from the ease with which he found his grandfather. He offered no greeting, but used a stern voice to try to cower the man into submission.

"Grandfather, you should be in the hospital." Baki glared at the old man, but to no avail.

"Hmph, hospitals are for getting well." The old man's voice was frail, but the eyes looking up at his grandson were sharp. "I'll die in my own house."

"You're not going to die if I take you to the hospital," muttered Baki. Then Temari heard how his voice softened as he added, "I'll stay by your side; you won't be alone."

"Then we'll both be more comfortable here," insisted Shimaku. "I've seen the black owl, Baki. It is the family omen. My time has come."

Shimaku reached out for Baki's hand and Temari saw her Sensei return the grip tightly. "Very well, then. What would you have of me, Grandfather?"

"First remember your manners, boy." Shimaku demanded, "Who have you dragged with you to see a frail old man? Puny looking boy, he is. I'd rather you brought me your wife. Oh, wait, you still haven't done your duty on that. I'd settle for your future wife--or any woman for that matter. Ah, to see a nice, gentle lady in my last hours would be a blessing."

Temari wasn't sure if she should be upset for being mistaken for a boy or amused that Baki had been labeled as such and then chided for still being a bachelor.

"I am not a boy, honored Grandfather," replied Temari in a soft voice and was surprised to see a smile light up the old man's face.

"Ah, the voice of an angel!" decreed Shimaku.

Baki had to clear his throat before he could proceed. "Grandfather, this angel is one of my students, Sabaku no Temari, the daughter of the Kazekage, and a Wind Mistress in-training."

"Come closer, Temari. Let me see your face. Ah, she even looks like an angel, Baki," said Shimaku with pleasure. Then his voice gained censure as he added, "Why do you make her hide as a boy?" 

"She's training," said Baki a bit defensively. "She's on a team with her brothers."

"It is a sin against nature," groused Shimaku. He turned his attention to Temari and his voice resumed its frailty. "Sweet girl, this dying old man has one last wish. In the other room you will find a proper kimono for a young lady. Please, select anyone you'd like to wear then come sit with me while I enjoy my last hours with the only family I have left."

"Grandfather--" began Baki.

Shimaku ignored his interruption. "If only I could have seen Baki married to a gentle wife and with plump little children crawling all over him--"

Here Temari stifled a chuckle at the image this evoked, especially the thought of a toddler playing peek-a-boo with Baki's drape.

"--but, no!" Shimaku stopped to glare at his grandson, then resumed his plea. "Instead I must take the blessings I am offered. I would treasure your presence, young lady, as if you were my own granddaughter."

"On behalf of my father, the Kazekage, I would be remiss not to grant such an humble request in return for your faithful service to Suna." Temari bowed politely as she said, "Tonight, I am your granddaughter."

Temari withdrew from the room to make her selection. She left Baki astonished by the grace with which she had assuaged his Grandfather. Furthermore, invoking the Kazekage had made Shimaku beam with pleasure. She was getting quite good at manipulating the men in his family. Her intuitive sense for diplomacy would serve the Kazekage well.

"Grandfather--"

"Well, go on, Baki. Make some tea so that Temari will have something to soothe her throat while she reads to me."

"You are not dying," muttered Baki as he rose.

Baki returned with the tea in time to meet Temari at the door. She had taken care to select a green kimono that accentuated her eyes and had bound her hair simply in a single bun atop her head. She whispered, "Do I look girly enough? I don't do kimonos very often."

"Grandfather will be pleased," assured Baki. In the back of his mind their secret betrothal lingered for a moment before the jonin quickly smothered it. That was not a secret he would reveal even to appease the old man. Before she entered, he quietly added, "Thank you, Temari. I regret that Grandfather is being so demanding."

"Your grandfather's comfort is more important than mine. Besides, I never knew my grandparents, so this is a nice chance to pretend," assured Temari with a gentle smile. Again, Baki was reminded that the girl had a generous nature. 

Baki and Temari took turns voicing the characters in an old Suna folktale for the old man. Little did they know that at the theatre, Kankuro was helping Uemura, the Master Puppeteer, perform the same story for the spoiled brats of the Suna Daimyo. 

"...into the wilderness where the Desert Lord hunted for the Demon..."

Kankuro manipulated the puppets expertly as the Desert Lord traveled through the wilderness and encountered many challenges before capturing the the Demon. He enjoyed the puppetry; he just disliked the bratty audience.

Nor could either sibling guess that at the outskirts of Suna, the story was being played out as the Kazekage directed Gaara to destroy a bandit camp.

"...the man demanded that the Demon destroy his enemies..." 

The bright full moon stirred Shukaku easily. All the Kazekage had to do was step into the camp with his demon child at his side. The attacks came quickly; the suppression of the bandits was absolute. But the demands on his chakra had left Gaara drained and with compromised defenses.

"...in the midst of the blood, the Demon fell asleep having eaten his fill..."

Baki noticed Shimaku's eyes drifting shut as they ended the story. In the theatre, Kankuro brought out the puppet's sword with flourish. On the real battleground, the Kazekage considered whether to kill his son during this vulnerable moment.

"...stabbing the Demon through his third eye to blind him, then thrusting deeply into his heart..."

Gaara watched his father with suspicion as the Kazekage suddenly lunged forward. The hidden bandit was pierced in the chest. As the Kazekage watched the last man die, he muttered, "You disappoint me, Gaara. You missed one."

In Shimaku's house, the old man beckoned his grandson forward when the story was over and whispered something in his ear. 

"Yes, Grandfather, I will do as you ask," assured Baki.

"Good, then go get some fresh tea," said Shimaku in a whisper.

As soon as Baki left, Shimaku opened his eyes once again and took Temari's hand in his. "Thank you, Temari. I face death with beauty because of your presence."

"Grandfather Shimaku, you have honored me by allowing me to act as your granddaughter," Temari said sincerely.

"Promise me you won't let Baki do this alone, Temari."

"I promise, honored Grandfather. I'll stay by his side." Temari gave in to the impulse to place a kiss on the elder's forehead. She felt the tear streaming down her cheek and when she moved back, Shimaku took his last breath. 

Baki found her kneeling in prayer when he returned. He put aside the tea and knelt beside her. And through the next days, Temari kept her promise to Shimaku. She was there to sort through the ashes and to create a shrine in Baki's room. It was with the gracious presence of a mature woman that she stood beside Baki and saw Shimaku's ashes finally buried with honor.

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_The Tower_

After the burial, Temari changed into her usual clothes as she waited for Kankuro to return from his last day at the theatre and for Gaara to return from his mysterious trip with their father. She looked at herself in the mirror as she glanced at a picture of her mother in her wedding kimono. She wondered if her mother would have been proud of her daughter. But acting like a lady was just that, an act. 

"Temari? Grandfather wanted you to have this." Baki called from the lounge where he was standing laden with two very long boxes. 

Temari recognized one, but the other one was longer and seemed heavier. "Sensei, I couldn't accept--"

"A dying man's wish is to be honored. He insisted you keep the kimono you wore," explained Baki. "And this."

The Sensei opened the longer box. Within it Temari found an enormous fan as tall as she was. Wrapped around it was a long sash of red silk, the perfect accoutrement for a Wind Mistress. Baki unfolded the fan to reveal three moons, the kamon for his family.

Temari took it from his hands and touched it lovingly. "It's beautiful! I didn't know your grandfather used a fan."

"He didn't; it was my grandmother's," admitted Baki. "The sash has a special seal for carrying the weapon. It bears the weight of the iron fan and can't be torn. It belongs to you now."

"But, this is a family heirloom," protested Temari. "I can't accept this."

"You were the granddaughter he would have wished for." Baki's voice then adopted his usual stern demeanor. "Besides, it's too feminine for my tastes. It's obviously meant for a woman who masters the wind."

Temari then did a very girlish thing and hugged the fan with glee. "It will be my treasure, Sensei. I better polish it to make sure it hasn't rusted..."

The girl walked off muttering to herself about inspecting the fan and the jonin released a sigh. He had lost the last of his immediate family with the death of his grandfather, but Temari's acting as a surrogate granddaughter had made it easier to bear the loss. 

By the time her brothers appeared, Temari was wearing the full regalia of a Fan Mistress. The red sash was a sharp contrast against her dark shirt and slacks, but the fan was a menacing presence on her back. 

The two brothers walked up the steps and while they offered no greeting to their sister, Temari was pleased by their response. Gaara actually reached with his hand to touch the weapon. Kankuro was much more vocal.

"Whoa! That is one wicked looking fan," said Kankuro as he added a whistle. 

"If you're nice to me, I'll give you a ride on it," said Temari as she preened. "How were the brats at the last puppet show?"

"The puppet show was brilliant, Uemura is a real master! But those rugrats couldn't appreciate it. Man, I hate little kids!" scoffed Kankuro. "They can't be quiet, they won't sit still, they don't pay attention, they always talk back--"

"Sound like anyone familiar?" ventured Baki.

"I can behave when it's important, you know," scowled Kankuro. "I had to bind a few of the trouble makers with chakra strings so they wouldn't disrupt the _bunraku_."

"Sounds like an effective way to keep your skills up," observed Baki.

"Why'd you keep going back if you hated it?" asked Temari.

"Because the _bunraku _shows were brilliant! It's like a ritual that starts once the _kumadori_ paint is on your face, you know? You become the master of the story and you just lose yourself once you start manipulating the puppets. I loved being able to wear the mask of the puppeteer." 

"And what about you, Gaara? Was Father, well, did you have a good time?" asked Temari. 

Gaara looked at his sister but gave a cryptic reply. "Father was disappointed."

"What do you mean?" asked Baki. It sounded as if the Kazekage had given an indirect criticism of his training and he wanted it clarified.

"I left one alive." Gaara walked silently to his room.

Kankuro and Temari stared after their brother and turned to their Sensei. Baki's angry expression made them flinch, but they weren't certain of the target. 

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_Suna Council Chambers_

Baki understood the full extent of Gaara's trip with his father after the Council meeting. The Kazekage reported on the destruction of the bandit camp in great detail, perhaps with the intention of reminding the Council of Gaara's power. Baki felt his anger flaring again, but maintained his poise as he gave his weekly report on the siblings to the Kazekage after the Council was adjourned.

"...this scroll commends Kankuro's work with the puppet master. In fact, Uemura is sending the _kumadori_ paints and cowl of the puppeteer for your son as a memento."

"Dispose of them when they arrive. I hope this stint in the theatre has taught Kankuro a valuable lesson about the frivolity of art." The Kazekage shook his head at the waste of time.

"Kankuro did express his displeasure," agreed Baki, but didn't indicate it was directed at the audience rather than the art. "I expect that your trip with Gaara went as you planned?"

"I was testing his effectiveness by unleashing him on a bandit camp." The Kazekage had his back turned as he continued. "The _hizoku_ had been plaguing the western caravans. We are well rid of them."

"Gaara's problem is not killing but learning to curb his lethal force, Lord Kazekage," said Baki firmly. "A team of jonin would have been just as effective. This could result in a major setback for Gaara."

"You've done well with him, Baki. The issue with Gaara is whether he can be controlled. Your work with him made this mission possible. Shinobi are merely tools, no?"

"Yes, my lord," admitted Baki. 

"And I commend you on your excellent work in shaping this tool. Keep Gaara in line until I call on him again. You're dismissed."

Baki turned to walk away, but the Kazekage had one last thing to say. "You have my condolences on the death of your grandfather. The reports indicated that Temari was by your side through it all. I was pleased to see her serving as expected of a young lady to her betrothed."

Baki turned to face the Kazekage and struggled to keep his voice respectful, but all the Kazekage heard was the cold tone of the jonin. "The girl knows nothing of the marriage contract. Like any female, she lets her tender heart lead her actions. I'm working on making sure she doesn't make that mistake in a field of battle."

"You're not eager to take her to wife? A girl as young as fourteen can marry with parental consent in Suna. That's less than two years to wait." The Kazekage murmured to himself, "And now I know when Gaara is most vulnerable."

"Forgive me, my lord, but until the girl makes jonin, I cannot consider her a worthy bride, even if she is the Kazekage's daughter," explained Baki. He was making it all up as he went along and hoped he gave nothing away. He would keep Temari as a genin indefinitely if he had to. "As you said, it is best to train the woman that is to become your wife. I have seen the wisdom of your words."

"As you wish," replied the Kazekage before walking away. 

Baki slowly released his breath and let his feet take him to the nearest bar after he left. Someone was buying him a drink tonight, in fact, several drinks. 

He was exasperated by how the father ignored his children only to sabotage their lives. The jonin's role as Sensei had expanded to guardian, counselor, handy-man, and master thief. He was damned if he'd be turned into a pedophile at the Kazekage's behest. He definitely needed those drinks tonight--and a woman. A real woman.

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_The Tower_

Baki was standing on a chair fixing the ceiling fan in the kitchen a week later. He glanced over to see that Kankuro was looking at his reflection in the shiny surface of the toaster on the counter. A large dollop of _ogure_, the red bean paste Kankuro put on toast, shined at the corner of the boy's mouth.

Rather than clean it away with a napkin, Kankuro used a finger to smear a line across his cheek. He then studiously made a symmetrical mark on the other and seemed to be considering adding to the pattern when the boy caught the Sensei's gaze in the reflective surface of the toaster. 

Temari entered faster than the boy could wipe away the _ogure_. "Kankuro! You're a mess! Wipe it off now."

"Sure," agreed Kankuro immediately as he smeared the _ogure_ on his fingers and then tried to wipe them on his sister. 

Temari countered his attack by swiping at him with a wet towel while Kankuro chased her around the table. Chairs toppled over before the table overturned on a broken leg. 

When they bumped into his perch, Baki snatched the wet towel from Temari. Kankuro squealed in victory then in annoyance when Baki caught the boy by the arm, wiped his face and hands quickly, and tossed the towel into the sink without a word. Temari, in the meantime, was cheering the outcome.

"What's the racket?" Gaara's harsh voice cut through their antics. He stood there glaring at them for disturbing his peace.

"No one needs to be killed, Gaara, so don't look so hopeful," replied Baki. "Your brother and sister just have to clean up their mess."

Gaara's expression smoothed, but he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as if he needed to see justice done.

"Temari, straighten the chairs while I show Kankuro how to fix the leg on the table," ordered Baki. 

Living with the Sand Siblings was really not much different than living in the barracks, the jonin realized. There were always a couple who were cutting up and making a mess. There were always the psychos who wanted any excuse for a fight. There were also the shy ones who felt most comfortable watching the activities of others. He shook his head at the thought that Gaara might be one of those. His thoughts were interrupted when Temari spoke.

"I'm done. Come on, Gaara, let's see if you can play sand ping pong." Temari swept out of the room with Gaara. 

At Baki's suggestion, the two had developed a 'game' where Gaara would roll sand into small balls that Temari had to repel with a small fan. It improved their fine control over their weapon of choice and helped Gaara learn to use his sand without lethal force. Most of the time it ended with Temari grumbling about the sand in her hair.

Kankuro waited until after they left to speak as he repaired the table. "Gaara told me where he went with Father, what he did. I think he just wanted to scare me, but I still listened."

"The Kazekage saw to the eradication of bandits," explained Baki. "His choices are not for us to question."

Kankuro nodded as he finished his task, but then he looked up at the jonin and said, "I wish I could drape my face like you do, Sensei." 

"You wouldn't want the scars I carry, Kankuro," replied Baki as he turned his attention back to tighten a screw on the fan. 

"I just don't want to look in the mirror and see--him, you know?" The boy looked away, but as Baki gazed at his profile, he understood the reference. Although his hair was darker, Kankuro would be the spitting image of his father.

Baki spun the fan blades to test his repair before saying anything. "Shinobi don't have to be scarred to hide their faces, but it's stupid to deliberately block your vision. I'm blind in my left eye."

"You wouldn't know it. None of us can sneak up on you on that side no matter how hard we've tried," admitted Kankuro.

Baki allowed himself a smirk at his comment, especially as he considered his private plan to thumb his nose at the Kazekage. He had dutifully 'disposed' of the package that Uemura had sent to Kankuro by addressing it to the Kazekage. The jonin who served as his assistants would take note of Kankuro's name and not bother the Kazekage with it, but redirect it to Kankuro. 

Thus, a package for Kankuro would arrive from the Kazekage's office to his son. It was heartwarming to be able to count on the ineptitude of bureaucracy to serve his needs. 

Early the next morning, Kankuro accepted a package from the Kazekage's office. He prepared his new face with care and determination. Regardless of any taunting, he intended to look like a puppeteer.

Baki expected Temari to make some snarky remark about Kankuro's new appearance. Instead, Temari nodded with grudging approval. "It looks better than the _ogure_."

"I wanted a distinctive but functional look," said Kankuro with a satisfied smile on his face. 

Gaara actually looked at his siblings and blinked. He stared at Kankuro for a long moment before saying, "You look strange."

"I am strange, you know," countered Kankuro immediately, "I'm the only puppet master of my generation. I'm unique."

"Unique," echoed Gaara. 

"Yeah, you know what that means?" asked Kankuro. 

"It means that if I kill you, there's no one else like you." Gaara turned his gaze from Kankuro to look out the window.

"The Kazekage would only replace him with someone even more annoying, right, Sensei?" predicted Temari, but Baki could sense a bit of anxiety in her comment.

"You are all nothing but tools. Even highly specialized tools can be replaced," said Baki. Temari was the only one who registered that he was looking at Gaara and not Kankuro.

_End Chapter 4_

**Author Notes:**

This chapter is a bit longer, but the elements I wanted to address all fit within this story. It's basic theme is identity. We see Baki accepting the fact that he fulfills various roles for the Siblings that their father should be performing. (And regarding Temari, remember that he accepted the 'betrothal' as a way to protect Temari from her father.) We see Temari getting the fan, Kankuro getting his face paint, and Gaara being used as a killer; all elements that help define their identity.

I thought Temari had to grow into a larger fan and for the purpose of the story, I decided that Baki's grandfather would be the source. I didn't really think about the fact that both Baki and Temari are wind users until I began writing this story, so I figured that a natural affinity would develop between them as they appreciated each other's talents.

The terms for puppetry are the best I could find, so I understand if there are errors. I liked the idea that Kankuro's face paint was a way to hide his resemblance to his father. I expect that Baki would support this move. After all, his face is tattooed (or painted) and draped. The puppet story is completely created for the purpose of this story. Any similarities with real folklore is accidental.

I also thought that the Kazekage would test Gaara by using him to slaughter his 'enemies' given how he was central to the invasion of Konoha. This would reinforce all the negative images Gaara would have about himself. But I did enjoy the way Gaara made his annoyances known. He's very effective without speaking much.

In case anyone is wondering, the Yura I'm describing here is the one we'll see later in Shippuden. I've made him a friendly rival of Baki's in that they begin on friendly terms but as the years pass, there's something about Yura that rubs Baki the wrong way.

No reviews are necessary, but you have my thanks for reading! And to Vanessa, thanks for letting me know you're enjoying the story, even if the victim recovers. 


	5. First Blood

Summary: The Sibs must come to Baki's rescue while Baki realizes just how naïve his genin are.

**DRY WINDS**

_**First Blood**_

_Sunagakure: Year Three_

"Vacation?" Baki figured he was looking like a fish out of water, but the idea was so foreign. He snapped his jaws shut. 

"Consider it a reward for your devotion to training your genin." 

"My lord, I don't know if my team should be left unsupervised," interjected the Sensei.

"I am their father, if you remember, and I will be remaining in Sunagakure."

"Forgive me, my lord, I did not mean any disrespect," said the jonin. 

The Kazekage presented a scroll to him as he explained. "The Land of Nightingales is opening a new resort at their eastern border and Shinobi lands have been invited to send delegations to enjoy the facilities, free of charge, for three days. 

"Why couldn't I just be sent into the desert? Alone?" Baki rubbed his temple as he thought about wind surfing in the canyons.

"Because you're exactly what the Suna contingent needs for its excursion to Sin City. Here's the list of your companions. Meet at the gates in one hour. Dismissed."

Baki reviewed what he knew about Nightingale Country as he walked back to the Tower to pack. It was a haven for the arts whose economy was based on entertainment. There was little activity during the day, but at night the clubs were said to provide any number of diversions. Talented actors, exquisite singers, beautiful dancers, casinos, willing women. Oh, yeah, Sin City, all right. 

He looked at the list of delegates from Suna and groaned. It was the Border Bears. Perfect. Sin City with belligerent, randy, drunken Sand nins. And guess who got to play nanny? 

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_The Tower_

The three genin watched their Sensei quietly as he made ready. Gaara's expression was indifferent, although Kankuro and Temari kept exchanging apprehensive glances. 

"You're leaving, Sensei?" Temari finally asked.

"Special assignment," replied Baki with a sarcastic edge to his voice, "called vacation."

"And what are we supposed to do while you're gone?" injected Kankuro. 

"The Kazekage will direct you," said Baki. "I expect he has special duties planned."

"Oh man! I bet it's sewer duty," groused Kankuro. 

"Don't gripe, Kankuro. At least you're not going to be babysitting a bunch of Border Bears."

"Border Bears?" asked Gaara. 

"They're the Suna Border guards, you know," said Kankuro. "Should be seven in a troop, specially selected for duty on the outposts."

"Yes, and the qualifications for border duty are having more brawn than brains," explained Baki. He added with resignation, "and this is their first furlough in a year."

"How long will you be gone, Sensei?" asked Temari with concern. 

"Two days travel, three days there, two days back, so a week--unless I get thrown in jail for murdering the lot of them." Baki picked up his pack, turned to look at his team and said dryly, "If that happens, bust me out so I can throw myself at the mercy of the Kazekage. He'll understand."

"Right, we're on it," said Temari firmly as she began planning in her mind how they could slip past their father and get to Nightingale country quickly.

The jonin noted the pensive frown on her face and said, "Temari, it was a joke. Honestly, I'd just hurt them a little bit and drag their butts back to Suna. Being sent on vacation means no lethal force. Don't worry."

The girl seemed to blush a bit, but then called as he was leaving, "Sensei? Can we work on that special project of Kankuro's until Father decides what to do with us? We know where all the equipment we need for it is at the jonin barracks."

"A _Kaitou_ raid on your own? Sure, I think you're up to it. Just remember the division of labor I recommended to make the project succeed."

The Sensei was soon gone, but suddenly Kankuro laughed and answered the question in his sister's eyes. "Baki and the seven Border Bears. I bet I could create a play on that one, you know. Wonder how Sensei would feel if I made a puppet like him?"

"He'd probably let me kill you," said Gaara quietly.

"No puppets, Kankuro. Let's get that contraption from the jonin storage so you can see if you can get it to work."

"All right! Operation Hishou Puppeteer!" 

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_Land of Nightingales_

The one thing the Border Bears appreciated in a leader was power. Luckily for Baki, he got to demonstrate his when the Suna delegation encountered a Gairyuu, the great armored lizard of the desert, on the way to the resort. These gigantic creatures were rare, vicious predators with deadly claws and fangs in front and a heavy clubbed- tail in the back.

Baki had been keeping watch over the sleeping Suna Border Bears, six men and one woman. He had volunteered for the duty once he realized that their loud snoring meant he wouldn't get any sleep. In fact, their sonorous tones had masked the growl of the predator for a moment before Baki realized the threat.

There was nothing like being awoken by the scent of blood in your nostrils and the feel of the hot spray staining your face. The Border Bears opened their eyes to find the giant predator sliced into pieces around them. In fact, a couple of the jonin were pinned to their bedroll by a stray limb. Still, the creature was so large that dismemberment was the only way to subdue and kill the lizard.

Baki calmly withdrew his Wind Sword and turned to his colleagues."Sorry about the mess. I get a little grumpy when I travel."

The Border Bears swallowed in synchrony as they registered the carnage. The kunoichi in the group finally asked, "So what do you do when you're really pissed?" 

"You don't want to find out," said Baki. "Gather the body parts so that we can build a pyre. We don't want the vultures to gather." 

After that, the Border Bears were on the best behavior the group of ruffians could muster, which was all Baki could really hope for. He now breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the dawn of a new day breaking on the horizon. The first day at the resort was almost over and the Border Bears would be passed out from drinking or overexertion from their sexual escapades. Life was good.

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_Outside Sunagakure_

"What if he comes looking for us?" asked Kankuro as he surveyed the array of objects on the sand before him. "It's gonna take me a day at least to put it all together."

"I sent a note to the Kazekage's office saying that you had a fever and could be contagious," said Temari with a smirk. "You know that Father hates sick kids."

"I don't get sick," voiced Gaara simply as he hung back from his siblings. "He still hates me."

"Look, let's just get to work." Temari couldn't think of how else to deflect Gaara's comment; lying would just get him upset. "I need to work on my control of the upper currents so that we can fly high and stay out of sight from the watchtowers. And, Gaara, it would really be helpful if you filled the sand bags while Kankuro assembles his Hishou craft."

"You know, this is big enough to carry a small army." Kankuro's voice was muffled as he disappeared among the parts for the small airship. He was soon busy manipulating Karasu, who had his knives replaced with drill bits, as he put the gondola together. Filling the blimp would be easy in comparison. 

At the end of the day they hid the craft in a canyon and arrived at the Tower exhausted and grumbling about the nice vacation their Sensei must be enjoying. Still, it looked like the Hishou Puppeteer was a reality.

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_Land of Nightingales_

"You did what?" Baki couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Sir, we got married, sir," replied the most coherent of the Border Bears. Then the man grinned stupidly as his wife kissed his cheek.

"Who is this 'we' you speak of?" asked Baki for clarification.

"All of us, sir. _Makoto tenjoumukyuu_! When one of us decided to commit matrimony, all of us took the flying leap over the cliff, too!" said the small rotund Border Bear as he gave his new bride a squeeze.

"Why am I not surprised that's how you operate," sighed Baki.

The bald Border Bear felt the need to explain their collective impulse. "We all found the woman of our dreams and didn't want to let go. Except for Noa there, she found herself a, well, her husband will make a fine wife! He's the assistant chef at the resort."

"And he fills me up with all kinds of good things," said the kunoichi suggestively as she hugged a rather short man. "We had a woman all picked out for you, too, sir."

"Oh lord, don't do me any favors," protested Baki.

"She got away from us when we couldn't find you, though." "Or she passed out and we forgot where we put her." "That was a girl? You sure about that?" Each Border Bear had their own version of events, it seemed.

"I'll survive the disappointment of not being wed to a gender-bending lush," said Baki calmly although inwardly he shuddered. Thank goodness he'd had the good sense to evade the Bears by stargazing in a nearby canyon. Baki continued. "Do you ladies also work at the resort or are you freelance hook--er, just party girls?"

The feminine cacophony confirmed that among the new brides were two singers, two dancers, and two casino dealers. Baki frowned at the news and said, "This is not good."

"Honestly, sir, we found great wives! We can dig one up for you today--"

"No! No, you don't understand the problem." Baki took a deep breath before disclosinng what he had learned during his cautiously sober ventures at the resort. "Kashou, the owner of this resort, is an alias. His real name is Yabuka, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure and you bears have just appropriated his staff as spouses."

"We ain't scared of no Mist nin!" The Border Bears began to chant, much to the delight of their spouses who also joined in.

Baki hung his head at the thought of the Border Bears' future progeny. Suna was doomed to a generation of dimwits--but it was still his responsibility to protect the fools. His voice broke through the revelry. 

"Pack up. We're leaving now before Yabuka realizes he's lost so much personnel. I hope your spouses like a drier climate."

"Any place would be better for us, sir," said the woman hanging onto the skinniest Border Bear. "Our contracts practically made us slaves here. We want to go!"

Baki surveyed the nods coming from all the women and the little chef, but in the next moment, there was an angry voice coming from the bottom of the stairs to their section of the hotel.

"Lord Kashou demands his employees! We know they're up there!"

"Quick! Go out the window and head to Suna while I stall them," whispered Baki as he began shoving people toward the windows.

"But we're three stories up!" yelped one of the women.

"You married shinobi." Baki thought that was all the explanation they needed, but the spouses merely blinked at him until their new mates picked them up and tossed them over their shoulders like a sack of potatoes. 

In exasperation, Baki explained, "Shinobi can walk down the walls, so stay still and don't shriek. Border Bears, get moving!"

"We could stay and fight--" began the burliest Border Bear.

"No lethal force. If you fight as a troop, we spark an international incident." Baki took a deep breath and explained. "They won't follow you if they get me as a hostage; they know I'm a Suna Marshal. Now go!" 

In the courtyard below, Sarutobi of Konoha was walking with Asuma in the gardens of the Nightingale resort as he enjoyed a brief respite from his duties as Hokage. They were discussing Konahamaru's future when Sarutobi pointed to the hotel and said, "Those are rather large ants, Asuma."

Indeed, the line of Sand nins looked rather like a trail of ants walking down the side of the hotel carrying women--and one man. After the Sand nin fled with their booty, the window of the hotel erupted into a waterfall. They could see one last Sand shinobi on the third floor encased in a sphere of water. 

"Should we help?" asked Asuma as he flexed his arms in preparation for battle. "Suna is an ally."

"The Sand nin was still alive and I believe it's Marshal Baki, the Wind Sword Master, from the markings on his face," observed Sarutobi. "This could be a delicate matter. Find out where he's being held and what they intend to do, then I'll contact the Kazekage and let him see to his man."

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_Sunagakure_

Temari was in the Kazekage's office waiting to provide an update on Kankuro's illness when the messenger dove flew to the window. As her father was still in a meeting in the next room, she felt compelled to accept the scroll.

Normally, Temari was a dutiful daughter and would have simply left the scroll on the Kazekage's desk. But the bird had flown in from the direction of the Land of Nightingales, not the Land of Fire. Her heart was racing at the thought that her Sensei had seen fit to murder the Border Bears and was now in a cell awaiting trial.

She slipped the scroll into her pocket, informed her father that Kankuro was no longer vomiting, but still had a fever, and made haste back to her brothers. They unrolled the scroll and read the message. 

_...seven Sand nins carried civilians (6 females, 1 male) away from resort without struggle. Remaining Sand nin, presumed to be Marshal Baki, captured by Kashou, owner of resort, aka, Yabuka, a known criminal from Kirigakure. _

"Yabuka? Let me check that name," said Temari as she rifled through the pages of the bingo book that Baki was making her update. Her brothers peered over her shoulder to read the profile. Yabuka's idea of releasing a hostage was to provide the corpse for burial. 

Kankuro summed it up simply, if not eloquently. "We've got to bust him out or he's dead meat, you know. The Hishou craft can get us there in less than a day." 

"We need supplies like food and water," began Temari. "And a medical kit. Baki's probably being tortured! And the Border Bears are carrying civilians; they can't be moving that fast." 

Temari stopped pacing and started gathering supplies that she loaded onto Kankuro. "Hey, I'm not a mule, you know. You've got to carry some of this."

"I'll take my share," assured Temari as she grabbed the medical kit. She turned to Gaara, who had been standing still the entire time. "You are going with us, aren't you Gaara?"

"Will there be bloodshed?"

"Yes, this is the equivalent of an A-rank mission. All of us will have to use lethal force," said Temari abruptly before turning to her other brother. "Kankuro, I hope you know how to fly that thing."

"Trust me, the Hishou Puppeteer is ready for this mission."

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_Land of Nightingales_

"I see shapes. Lumps. Humans." Gaara seemed a bit confused at what he was looking at as they flew over the terrain close to the resort.

Kankuro and Temari peered over the edge of the gondola and looked at each other in befuddlement until Temari said, "I think they're sleeping in a squirming sort of way."

Kankuro had a characteristically skeptical squint on his face as he considered her response. "Fine, let's wake them up. We need to descend. Gaara, call up a little sand here to increase the weight. Temari, a small downdraft would help, too."

_Whoosh, thump, thump, crash!_

_Ptew_. "Oh, yeah, that's a graceful landing," declared Kankuro as he spat out some leaves from the tree they had clipped on descent.

The Border Bears were sufficiently distracted from their activities to straighten their clothing and pay attention to the newcomers. The headbands of the ninja carried by the small airship labeled them as Sand nins, but it was a most peculiar team.

"Look! It's a blonde haired boy." "With a cat." "And a pet raccoon."

"Pet raccoon?" said Gaara with a bit of menace in his tone.

"Where's a cat?" asked Kankuro as he looked around the gondola. Had they shaken one out of the tree?

"I'm getting tired of being mistaken for a boy," grumbled Temari. She shouted at the Border Bears and sounded rather feral for young girl. "We're Baki's team. He was captured and we've come to retrieve him."

The three genin jumped out of the gondola and Kankuro took the lead by doing his best Baki imitation. "Listen, you Border Bears, we've got an urgent mission and we don't have time to mess around. We need wind control, sand control, and someone who knows anything about gas tanks."

The bald and the skinny Border Bears stepped forward. Then a little man who was not a Sand nin, but appeared attached to the kunoichi, raised his hand hesitantly and said, "I know gas tanks from the kitchens." 

Temari gave an approving nod. "Good. Kankuro will give you instructions so you can fly on a low path back to Sunagakure."

A murmur arose from the contingent with the women voicing their fear and the Border Bears trying to placate them. Obviously the rough and ready men were already hen-pecked.

"I want to know who called me a raccoon." Gaara didn't raise his voice, but the Border Bears and their companions all stopped talking.

"Later, Gaara. We'll have the real targets at the resort," said Temari as she waved at Kankuro to finish briefing the men on operating the little air ship.

All argument about boarding the air ship ended when Gaara used a wave of sand to flow under the group and dump them into the gondola without ceremony. Temari had thought he was going to use lethal force, but all Gaara said was, "They're very annoying."

"You better get out of here now. Stay low so that the watchtower will catch sight of you," called Temari and soon the Border Bears were on their way.

"Hey, you think Baki will be surprised to see us?" asked Kankuro as the genin made their way to the perimeter of the resort. 

"I just hope he's in shape to help with his rescue," said Temari fretfully. "I imagine he's been subjected to torture."

It wasn't difficult to find Kashou's compound and it was easy to discern that it was manned by common thugs rather than ninja. Gaara and Kankuro distracted the guards while Temari went to seek their Sensei. Temari found she was right about Baki's condition, but the instrument of torture was not quite what she expected to find.

Baki was chained to a wall by his ankles with his arms restrained over his head. His lean torso was exposed since he was shirtless and Temari realized that his head was also completely bare. It was difficult to see the extent of his scars because a woman's hand covered the left side of his face. Her other hand was no where Temari could imagine.

Why do I always attract the sleazy ones? That was Baki's thought as he felt the biting and sucking on his neck while he tried to avoid the groping woman's touch as much as possible. Really, why couldn't they just beat him again instead? 

"Sensei?" Temari looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Baki's relief in hearing her voice was greater than the embarrassment at the situation. He managed to dodge Poison Lips, his term for Yabuka's nympho girlfriend, and implore, "Get this skanky woman off me now!"

Temari unfroze and sent a wave of air pressure that knocked the woman against the far wall. "Sensei, are you all right?"

"Nothing a long, hot shower can't fix," muttered Baki. "Get my hands loose. There are binding chakra strings under the ropes." 

The girl complied and performed the seal for the jutsu. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts as her glance fell to Baki's scarred face, but he immediately turned his left side away from her and urged, "Hurry."

In the next moment Baki's hands were free and he was able to release his ankles. In the meantime Temari found his shirt and head gear, so she was ready to offer them to him after he caught his breath.

"Sensei, you've got bruises on your chest and a--a strange wound on your neck," said Temari as she quickly withdrew an ointment from her pack and offered it to him. 

Baki slapped his hand to the spot and realized he didn't want to explain a hicky to a girl who couldn't recognize one. He accepted the ointment and rubbed it against his injuries. "Don't worry about it. Gaara and Kankuro?" 

He asked the question as he shrugged into the sleeves of his shirt, then kept his left side turned away from the girl until he had re-draped his scarred face.

"They're taking care of the guards," said Temari and swallowed before adding, "with deadly force."

"The Kazekage didn't authorize this, did he?" The girl's guilty expression was all the response Baki needed. "Then we better make sure we get out of this one alive so he can kill us himself. At least we're dealing with a real criminal. Lead the way."

Temari led the jonin out of the building to the rendezvous point, but they had to deal with several bodyguards on their path. The slashing wind from her fan was deadly and Baki only needed to call on Wind Daggers to get through the gauntlet. They were within sight of Gaara and Kankuro when Yabuka suddenly appeared in front of them.

"You've been a lot of trouble to me, Sand nin," said Yabuka. "You should know by now that I'm no ordinary man. I am a Mist nin from Kirigakure, home of the infamous Seven Swordsmen."

Baki stepped in front of Temari and taunted, "Yeah, I know the Seven and your name isn't on the list."

Yabuka's attack was immediately met with Baki's favorite weapon. The crime lord was soon on the floor with blood pooling around him. Baki leaned over to explain. "But you should know, I'm not just a Suna Marshal. I am the Wind Sword."

He lopped Yabuka's head off with one last stroke and called to his team. "Head for the canyons."

Kankuro was crushing the last guard with his puppet while Gaara found there were no enemies left in his line of view. The four soon stood on the edge of the canyons that extended from the edge of Nightingale country to Suna.

"All right, Kankuro, you know how you've been pestering me to take you wind surfing? Today's your lucky day." Baki executed a jutsu and soon Kankuro could feel the wind surfboard under his feet.

"You're the best, Sensei." Kankuro said with genuine glee. He had been concerned on how he would make it back to Suna. Temari could glide on her fan, but could only carry him for limited distances. Gaara could carry him on the sand he levitated, but his stingy little brother would prefer to smother him. Windsurfing, though, was just cool.

"Stay on your knees for stability and watch our back," directed Baki before he called on the winds. "Let's go home. I'm sick and tired of this vacation."

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_Sunagakure_

As they were leaving the canyons, Temari insisted on taking a break although they were in sight of the village. Kankuro used the time to clean his puppets thoroughly as Baki sand-blasted the bloody residue. Gaara merely watched from his perch on rock. 

Baki frowned as he wondered if Temari was busy puking behind a rock as she relived seeing his scarred face. Or perhaps she was upset about the use of deadly force; this was the first time she had slain her enemies and there had been a lot of them. 

When Kankuro had time to conduct a detailed inspection of his weapons and wrap Karasu again without sign of Temari, Baki finally bellowed her name. "Temari!" 

Temari had deliberately hidden from their view. She now swallowed her fear and adjusted her clothing. She tugged on the sash and fan again, making sure to hide any stains, and stepped out. Although she felt a wellspring of panic at her discovery, she had come to rely on her Sensei answers. 

She finally emerged from the outcropping with an odd expression on her face. 

"Temari?" Baki repeated again, but his tone was softer.

"Sensei, I'm sick, but I don't--I'm not sure how--I--" She approached him and tiptoed while he bent at the waist so she could whisper in his ear and point covertly. "I'm bleeding--there."

Baki tried to visualize each maneuver she had been struck with during their retreat from the resort. He couldn't remember anyone dealing her a low blow--and then his eyes widened in horror as he realized the problem.

Damn! Double damn! Why hadn't the Kazekage seen that his daughter had proper instruction? Because for the past three years everything regarding the Sand Siblings had fallen onto Baki. The jonin sighed deeply.

"Kankuro, you and Gaara head back to the Tower. I need to escort Temari to see someone at the mission station."

The puppet master scowled at the thought of being alone with Gaara until Baki added, "Gaara, see if you can levitate the sand and carry both you and Kankuro back to the village. It will be good practice."

"Whoa!" Kankuro was suddenly swept up to land on his butt on a floating carpet of sand as Gaara immediately responded to the command, all the while looking quite noble as he stood with perfect posture. They could hear Kankuro speaking as the two boys left.

"Hey, Gaara, let's buzz the Councilors' Garden. We couldn't get into any more trouble than we are now and those constipated, old geezers need a bowel movement, you know?"

Baki was about to call them back, but the Kazekage would likely be quite amused when he heard about it and that might alleviate their penalty for the Nightingale fiasco. With a shrug he turned his attention back to Temari.

"Sensei, am I too weak to be a ninja? Is that why I'm bleeding?" asked Temari with concern.

"There's nothing wrong with you," began Baki. "The bleeding is normal for a woman. No one has told you of this?"

Temari shook her head and bit her lip.

"It happens every month for a few days. Most men like to avoid women at that time and I'm no exception." He shook his head again. "You're becoming a woman, Temari, and you need another woman to explain about, er, being a woman to you."

Temari took a deep breath and nodded. She frowned before saying, "Women get married and have babies, babies that can kill them."

"Temari, it's not always like that. Besides, you're too young to be worrying about it. You've several years before you come of age."

"But with parental approval, a girl can marry young," reminded Temari with a frown marring her features. She turned to Baki in desperation, "You won't let it happen, will you? You won't let him make me marry someone, make babies that he can...?"

Temari's voice fell off, but Baki understood her fear. He thought about the Kazekage promising this girl would be his wife when she came of age. At least he could offer this one assurance. "You won't get married until you're ready, Temari. I promise you."

"I'd rather die on a mission than get married," said Temari with certainty.

Baki had to laugh. "I once knew a girl who said the very same thing. I'm taking you to meet her. Hiroko's the chunin currently assigned to the mission desk."

"Hiroko is the tall one?" asked Temari as she searched her memory for the names of people she had met at the funeral of Baki's grandfather. "Isn't she getting married soon?"

"Her marriage to Yura is still a few weeks away. I'm sure she'll find the time to talk to you," said Baki. 

"You knew Hiroko when she was a girl?" asked Temari. 

"I knew Hiroko quite well," said Baki. "We're still friends and she owes me a favor."

Although Temari had been by Baki's side through his grandfather's funeral, she had never thought of her Sensei as a man before, but the revelations were overwhelming. Her feet stumbled when she realized, "You had a girlfriend?"

"Don't sound so incredulous. And yes, we were together, even spoke of getting married before this." Baki waved absently at the drape across his left side.

"Hiroko doesn't like curtains?" asked Temari.

"No, it's the scars. You saw them; I'm hideous."

Temari shrugged. "You don't look ugly to me, Sensei."

"That's because you're used to seeing my good side."

"You have scars," shrugged Temari. "Kankuro hides behind paint, Gaara is marked by the demon he carries, my father even hides behind a veil now." Temari listed the men in her life and their penchant for hiding their appearance. "People are more than their face reveals." 

"I agree," admitted Baki, "but at least Hiroko was honest about her fears. She'll understand yours, too, and be able to answer your questions."

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_Suna Mission Desk_

"Temari, this is Hiroko, the woman I told you about earlier," Baki said by way of introduction when they arrived at the mission desk. "Hiroko, you recognize Temari?"

The chunin merely quirked an eyebrow at her old friend and confirmed, "Indeed I do, Baki. She and her brothers are your genin team."

"And happen to be the children of the Kazekage," said Baki as he pulled out the Kazekage's seal and placed it into Hiroko's hand. "Remember that favor you owe me? I'm calling it due. Get Temari whatever she needs, drown her in information, and answer all her questions."

"You're leaving me, Sensei?" asked Temari with just a note of trepidation. She was not accustomed to being around women.

"This is a girl thing, Temari, I'm useless," admitted Baki. "Besides, I have a lot of explaining to do to the Kazekage."

"Come on, Temari, I think I can guess what this is about," said Hiroko as she rose. "And Baki's right. While your sensei has many talents, girl talk is not one of them." She punched Baki's shoulder lightly while assuring, "Don't worry, I'll take care of Temari for you."

"You have my thanks. Now if I can just survive my debriefing with the Kazekage, "

"When you finish your report, tell Yura that I'm on an errand for you and that I said to buy you a drink. You look like you need it." 

Hiroko put an arm around Temari's shoulder and sighed as she watched the jonin walk away. "So typical of Baki. He'd rather face the rage of his Kazekage than the questions of a girl."

Temari actually laughed at that observation and realized that Hiroko was a blessing. 

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_Kazekage's Office_

Baki gave a concise report about events to the Kazekage who remained sitting behind his desk with his hands steepled before him. "Baki, can you tell me a story to relay to the Council that will make this recent escapade into Nightingale country not sound like a complete disaster?"

"Lord Kazekage, I know for a fact that no one, in their right mind, in Sunagakure would marry the Border Bears. They should be commended for securing spouses given the falling birth rate in Suna and insuring against the inbreeding that likely contributed to their own--unique--characteristics."

"I see," said the Kazekage with a nod. The jonin was indeed good at improvisation; he could feed the Council that story. "And how do I explain your genin's excursion?"

"My lord, the team completed an A-rank mission to dispose of the criminal Yabuka for the Land of Nightingales. They should also be commended for actions worthy of chunin level shinobi."

"That's quite a story, but fortunately for you, there are facts to support this claim." 

"The Nightingales wanted Yabuka eliminated?" queried Baki.

The Kazekage leaned back "The Nightingale Daimyo was hoping Yabuka would anger one of the ninjas from the shinobi countries to the point of lethal retaliation. Looks like you filled the ticket perfectly and Suna is being sent a substantial bounty."

"That's why you sent the Border Bears," said Baki as understanding dawned. One could use many words to describe the Kazekage, but foremost was that he was devious. 

"I was expecting something more violent than stealing brides, but they served their purpose. You were my insurance to keep the issue constrained to the appropriate target. I had not expected your genin to go after you, though, especially without authorization."

"Gaara is driven by his blood lust and Kankuro is motivated by adventure."

"And Temari?"

"Temari is loyal to a fault," replied Baki. 

"Your training is proceeding very well then. My daughter appears to be quite attached to you. Are you sure you want to wait on the marriage until she's of age?"

"Forgive me, my lord, but after witnessing the marital bliss of the Border Bears, I am even more determined to remain a bachelor for as long as possible."

"I can't blame you for that," said the Kazekage with a laugh."You amuse me, Baki. You are fast to call those around you fools, yet you're the first to defend them. Still, I must impose punitive measures. "

"I will also serve out any punishment with the team, my lord. I did tell them before I left to retrieve me if necessary."

"Even if it's sewer duty? For a month?"

Baki shifted ever so slightly, but replied, "Even that, although it is inefficient to occupy their talents with such mundane duty for so long. You did mention that the Nightingales were remitting a bounty."

"I think I can reduce it to a day if they demonstrate complete obedience."

"As you will, Lord Kazekage."

Baki was soon at the Tower enjoying a long, hot shower to remove the last vestiges of Poison Lips. His thoughts turned to his genin and he realized he had another duty to them. If Temari was clueless about sex, then her brothers were likely to be just as naïve. He intended to straighten them out.

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_Sunagakure Stockyard_

Baki took the brothers to their destination and made them sit while he offered his introduction. 

"Listen carefully. This recent mission made it clear that although you're growing up, you're clueless about the facts of life. Things are already starting to change in you, Kankuro, like your voice."

"I told Temari I couldn't help the squeaking!" said Kankuro as he raised fist in vindication.

"It's called puberty and when it hits, the next thing you know, hair starts appearing everywhere, your body parts get longer--and I mean all over, and you'll start noticing girls and how their bodies are different."

"You mean because they have b--" began Kankuro.

"Just read those scrolls I've given you for the basic details. Got it? I'm here to make sure you understand where these new urges can lead you."

Kankuro nodded again while Gaara merely blinked. 

"And you, Gaara, well, actually, I'm not sure if puberty will quite hit you at all, but I refuse to give this talk more than once."

Gaara merely grunted but did consider encasing his Sensei in sand just to avoid this bizarre subject. Still, it was amusing to see Kankuro's discomfort.

Baki now motioned them to approach the fence surrounding the livestock.

"So why are we at the pigsty, Sensei?" Kankuro was leaning against a rail on the fence with one eye squinting at the swine before him. Gaara merely crossed his arms across his chest.

"Because you're here to learn a lesson. That, gentlemen, is sex." Baki pointed to a rutting pair in the background. 

"Uh, Sensei, it looks pretty disgusting, you know," said Kankuro with a shudder.

"It sounds annoying," said Gaara.

"Although humans try to dress it up with romance, basically, men turn into nothing more than rutting boars unless you use your brain." Baki put his hands on the top of the boys' heads and turned them to face him and counted off his rules with his fingers. "First, remember that all men are pigs. So don't be in a rush to have sex. Don't ever drink to the point of being drunk..Use protection--"

"Uh, what--"

"It's in the scroll," said Baki abruptly before returning to his points. "Don't bother with sluts--"

"And that means?" asked Kankuro.

"Women who'll do any and every man available," replied Baki. "Finally, don't be a man slut. You are the sons of the Kazekage and could be targets to use against him. You will not put yourself in a position for that to happen. Now, any questions?"

"Can we leave if I say no?" asked Kankuro. A look of relief briefly passed across Gaara's eyes.

"One last thing. Your sister is also becoming a woman. Once a month, well, it's all in the scroll, but let's just say, that once a month, our life is going to be hell. Dismissed." 

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_The Tower_

When the male contingent heard Temari's footsteps as she climbed up the stairs, they rose in synchrony. The girl was carrying two bags in her hands and the ensemble she wore was new and colorful. Although still dressed in pants and shirt, they were different shades of green. 

Temari surveyed the 'men' before her and smirked. By the look on their faces you'd almost think they had missed her presence. 

"Did you get everything you needed?" Baki asked as he accepted the seal from the girl.

"Yes, Hiroko was very helpful. She even insisted on this." Temari held up the bag that held a large tub.

Kankuro jumped up immediately to snatch it away from her. "It's cold. Green tea ice cream? You know if this stuff is any good?"

He was already opening the lid and poking his fingers through the creamy substance. 

"Hey, that's mine, you moron. Hiroko said it's therapeutic," insisted Temari. "Get your grubby paws out of it!"

Before Baki could intervene, the lid scraped across the surface of the ice cream during the tussle to send a dollop of it at Gaara's face. 

The siblings stared at each other in horror when they heard the _splat_ as it landed on what they now recognized as Gaara's armor of sand.

Baki was already activating his Wind Sword to counter the expected retaliation from Gaara, but the boy surprised them all.

Gaara's tongue licked at the speckle of ice cream that had landed on the corner of his mouth. He stood there silently before emitting a single word.

"Share."

Gaara then walked to the kitchen table and sat down to wait. 

"You get the bowls and spoons, Kankuro, and I'll dish it out," said Temari.

Baki watched this interaction with some amusement. In his mind, they were already chunin. He wondered when the Kazekage would finally allow them to be recognized for their talent.

_End Chapter 5_

**Author Notes:**

Sorry this took a while to post and again, I offer a longer story. I am not good at action scenes and can't keep up with all the jitsus used by the ninja, so action mostly occurs off-stage. 

The Border Bears were completely created for the purpose of this story as was the desert lizard. 

_Makoto tenjoumukyuu_: fidelity as eternal as heaven and earth. The Land of Nightingales is also not canon, but the night warbler was the best symbol I could think of for the area. _Yabuka_ means striped mosquito and I thought that name would be amusing for a rogue Mist nin.

The Siblings have to grow up and given the background I created, Temari would be pretty isolated from other women at this point. Given her lean physique, I thought 13 was reasonable for menarche. Obviously, not being a parent, Baki wouldn't think about the need for sex education. While the jonin has many talents, explaining sex to his genin isn't one of them, so his 'talk' was supposed to be amusing in part for its nature. One last thing. I love chocolate and I'll have you know that the green tea ice cream I've tasted easily rivals it. 

Thanks for reading another long chapter. And thank you, AnimeFanPR, Vanessa, inochi, Elfdragon12, hi, Adlerauge, RhyssaFireheart, and spriterx, for your specific comments. Reviews aren't necessary, but always appreciated. One more chapter will finish this arc.


	6. Metamorphosis

SHIFTING SANDS

Summary: When she turned fourteen, the male cohort of the fifth floor realized Temari was 'blossoming', each in their own unique way.

**DRY WINDS**

_**Metamorphosis**_

_Sunagakure: Year Four_

It was a good thing the genin were very talented in ninjutsu and their special attacks because hand-to-hand combat was not their forte. On those rare days for taijutsu, the genin would be dressed in their dark shirt and trousers. The soft sand felt good on their bare feet, although it was odd not to feel their weapons on their backs. At most Baki only allowed Kankuro to bring kunai and Temari to bring a hand fan for some rather lackluster weapons practice. 

Baki would 'spar' with Gaara due to the potential lethality of his sand by having the boy shadow the Sensei's moves against a clone. Gaara was at least learning the motions, although the boy executed them with complete lack of vigor. 

That left Kankuro to spar with Temari until Baki was available, but their matches contained no more energy than when the two siblings were horsing around at the Tower. Lately it had been even more pathetic. 

Baki yelled, "You're not playing pat-a-cake. Strike, Kankuro!"

He could hear Kankuro grumble under his breath before giving a half-hearted shove to his sister. Temari responded with a swift series of attacks, but Kankuro had a spine like a cat and used his flexibility to evade her. Still, he did not return the blows. 

"All right, take a break. Kankuro, come here," said Baki. The boy came over in a familiar sulk. "What's the problem?"

"I can't spar with Temari anymore, Sensei," proclaimed Kankuro. "She's gone all girly and, I don't know, soft in places and it just doesn't feel right, you know."

"Kankuro, Temari is shinobi, not one of the civilian girls sunning themselves on the mall," said Baki, referring to the long public lawn. He smirked at Kankuro's blush. 

"I know, but, geez, I'd rather spar with one of them than my sister. Hell, you try it," challenged Kankuro. "You'll see what I mean."

Baki suddenly realized that he had not 'sparred' with the girl for about a year. "Fine, you and Gaara get back to the Tower." He turned to call over his shoulder, "Temari, get in position."

The girl swallowed when she saw her brothers leaving and her Sensei assuming the place of her opponent. She immediately obeyed his order to attack and gave it all she had. 

Baki deflected the flurry of motions with ease and was about to tap her chest with the heel of his palm when he realized the problem. He pulled his punch and wound up shoving her on the shoulder instead, just like Kankuro, except that his force sent her landing in the sand on her rump. 

The Sensei was still reeling from his discovery when Temari took advantage of his inattentiveness to kick at his ankles. Unfortunately, she did not account for how heavy his mass would be when he fell or that she should have rolled to avoid cushioning his fall.

"Oof!" 

The wind was knocked out of the girl and her Sensei sprang back up quickly in shock. Kankuro was right again, she had gone all soft and girly in places. Baki shook his head, took note of Temari's distress in breathing, and knelt to help her sit up and catch her breath.

As the girl took deep gulps of air, Baki scowled. "That's enough for today."

Temari looked into his eyes and declared, "I am not weak."

The girl was right; she wasn't the one being weak, but Baki didn't quite know how to explain it to her. 

"You wouldn't be on the team if you were," replied Baki gruffly. 

He stood up and walked away, fully expecting the girl to catch up and walk by his side. She didn't disappoint him. He felt a pang of regret at the thought that they would lose their feeling of comfort with each other, but pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Taijutsu was not a priority; 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_Mission Trail_

Their escapades as Kaitou raiders provided the experience for their next mission to retrieve a powerful scroll. Kankuro had entered the village stealthily and was using Karasu to snatch the the scroll from its hiding place. Temari was gliding on her fan to survey the layout in order to facilitate his retreat. She leapt off of her fan to stand on the jutting rocks to give hand signals when she sighted him.

"Gaara, can you extend your sand attack to stop his pursuers?" asked Baki.

"She's blocking my view again," said Gaara tonelessly as Temari stood in silhouette to them. At his angle, Gaara's view was definitely being obstructed by a set of protrusions.

The outline of Temari's body was distinctly feminine even in the boys' garb she still wore, but Baki shook off the notion that there was something he was missing. Curves were to be expected at her age, she was fourteen, but there just happened to be more curve there than he remembered. 

"Temari, point, er, look the other way," called Baki in a hushed tone.

Temari turned at the sound of her name, but that was all Gaara needed to clear his view. The sand exploded behind Kankuro and Temari had to jump on her fan to retrieve the puppeteer as he was thrown skyward as well. Kankuro managed to use chakra strings to capture the scroll as it tumbled through the air.

"Gaara! Retreat!" called Baki when the siblings landed safely near him, but the boy seemed more interested in extending his attack onto the village itself.

"Damn it!" Baki called his orders as he ran to intercept Gaara's attack. "You two, get back to camp now!"

Temari and Kankuro obeyed the command, but looked over their shoulder once. They saw Baki calling the wind to counter Gaara's sand and hastened their retreat. The resulting sandstorm would be voracious.

It was dark by the time Baki and Gaara made it back to camp, but their antics had precipitated a rainstorm. Luckily for them, Temari and Kankuro had set up their three tents for the night and now poked their heads out as their Sensei and brother returned.

Temari put out a hand to catch the first raindrops and smirked at her brother from across the clearing. "Sometimes being a girl has its advantages."

Kankuro peered up at the sky only to have a drop of rain water plop into his eye. He squinted and grumbled, "Oh, man! Gaara's gonna stay in my tent to avoid the rain."

Indeed, Gaara didn't say a word, but silently entered the tent and sat near the entrance staring out into the rain. Kankuro shook his head and waved his hand in dismissal as good night.

Baki, who was quite tired from fighting Gaara, just shook his head and told Temari, "Better get some sleep; Gaara will alert us if there's danger. We're out of here in four hours."

He entered his tent and stripped out of his dusty clothes in the dark before he sank onto his pallet. The opening of the jonin's tent faced the side of Temari's, so his attention was caught by the illumination that made the white canvas seem to glow. He mused over how women shared universal traits, like taking the time to brush out their hair at night.

Baki could see her movements silhouetted against the canvas of her tent, each brush stroke made with fluid, graceful movements. It was hypnotizing in a way, so he failed to react quickly enough when the girl stood up and began to tug off her shirt and pants. In fact, Baki had a moment to appreciate the curves revealed in shadow before he realized what he was doing.

"Damn it, I am becoming an old pervert!" he muttered to himself as he abruptly turned his back to her tent and closed his eyes. He was just tired, it was only the fatigue.

_...Cover your face; it's hideous...No woman would marry you now...You can have the girl when she comes of age...Are you sure you don't want to make her your wife... She's gone all soft and girly in places...A girl can marry at fourteen...A pure vessel might work better this time...You promised me, Sensei..._

Baki sat up and noticed his heart was racing in response to the dream, or rather, the nightmare. A blood red wedding gown fading into blood red sheets, staining everything: his hands, her body, the hair of his son. Temari's face so pale in contrast, eyes bright in accusation. _You promised me..._

Baki wiped a hand across his face as he resolved, "I'll protect you, Temari, even if it's from myself."

Temari was becoming a deadly ninja, but underneath she still was such an innocent girl. He made up his mind to quench any thought of her as a woman. Luckily for him, she was still happy being a tomboy. He sighed in relief. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_Sunagakure_

Baki's resolve to relegate Temari into the sexless league of ninjas was only temporarily effective. The last restraints on her femininity were lost after a strenuous flight back to Sunagakure from a harrowing mission. They had intercepted a band of raiders who had attacked an outlying Suna village. The enemy was stronger than expected and had a number of powerful ninja. Shukaku had emerged when Gaara had allowed himself to sleep. 

It had been an effective ploy for eliminating the raiders, but it took a lot of work for Baki to awaken Gaara. He had to extend his chakra to gather cold air from the upper atmosphere to send a frigid blast to rouse the boy. The jonin didn't want to think of what would have happened if it hadn't worked. 

Except for Gaara, they were all drained of chakra by the time they got close to Sunagakure and resorted to running the last miles home. That's when Baki noticed that Temari now jiggled--or rather bits of her did. With every single step she took, the jiggling occurred. With his height advantage, it didn't matter whether the girl was to his left or to his right, the bouncing body was in view.

Baki resorted to sending her ahead so he could watch their back. Temari's posterior curves were still evident, but at least the jiggling was obstructed. The large fan now strapped to her back didn't obscure the movement of her hips, but he could handle the sway. 

Damn, he felt like such a pervert! He was going to give Hiroko hell for not telling the girl she needed to start wearing a bra!

When they finally reached the safety of the village and arrived at the mission station, Baki took Temari aside and instructed her, "Go to Hiroko. Ask her to take you shopping for a bra."

"What did you say, Sensei?" asked Temari. She was having trouble shaking off the image of Shukaku in addition to her exhaustion. She also felt uncomfortable from the jostling her body was giving her. She wished she were ten again. 

"Tell Hiroko that you need a bra," repeated Baki in a hushed tone.

"Abra? Is that a special jutsu or something? I don't understand, Sensei," said Temari in confusion. Her brain was simply not registering Baki's voice.

Kankuro decided to be helpful. He began at a shout, "He said to tell Hiroko that you need--mmph."

Baki covered the boy's mouth. "Kankuro, go. Take Gaara with you."

Once her brothers left, Baki began pulling Temari along to Hiroko's desk so quickly that she again began jiggling. His scowl made several of the lounging chunin avert their gazes quickly.

"Hiroko!" he hissed when he got to her station.

The pregnant chunin sitting behind the desk was trying not to laugh to avoid upsetting the girl. Still, she had never seen Baki's death glare used outside a field of battle. And with only one good eye now at that. The problem had been very clear as she watched the two approaching her station.

Hiroko maintained her composure and said, "Temari, I'm glad you're back. It looks like we need to go shopping." 

"But, Hiroko, I'm really tired," admitted Temari.

Baki ignored his student and instructed Hiroko as he practically slammed the seal into Hiroko's hand, "Get whatever she needs and make sure it's sturdy." He gave a long glance to Temari and added, "Very sturdy."

"But, Sensei--" Temari began to protest.

"Temari, go shopping. Now. That's an order." 

"Baki, why don't you give the girl a day off? She does look exhausted now. Temari can spend a couple of nights with me and we'll go shopping in between. Yura is on a mission and I could use the company." 

"Very well, but I expect you back early the next morning and ready to work," admonished Baki as he turned to Temari. 

"Thank you, Sensei, and tell Kankuro to give Gaara back his teddy bear. I had to fix his ear, but we went on mission before I could return it, so it's still in my room." 

Baki merely grunted his agreement. As he stalked away, the jonin pointed to a random chunin whom he had cowed earlier and demanded, "You. You're buying me a drink, you little pervert."

Hiroko couldn't hold back her laughter once Baki dragged the hapless chunin out the door. "Come on, Temari. Let's have a girls' night and indulge at an evening at the spa."

"I've never been to the spa, Hiroko."

"Then it's about time the Kazekage spent his money indulging his daughter. All women should experience a facial and manicure at least once," grinned Hiroko as she flipped the seal in her hand. Then she frowned and her tone turned apologetic. "It appears I took for granted that you knew about feminine apparel. It's time you quit dressing like a boy and appreciated the fact that you're becoming a very attractive young woman."

"Me? But, I'm nothing special," said Temari in confusion. 

"Of course you are," assured Hiroko as she put her arm around her shoulders and led her out. "Every woman is special, but you, Temari, are going to be spectacular."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_The Cottage, Suna_

Three hours later, Temari and Hiroko were in their pajamas sharing a laugh, comparing their manicures, and trading stories that illustrated the cluelessness of the male sex. They had developed a nodding acquaintance in the past year, but this was the first time Temari realized she had a friend in Hiroko.

"I'm really glad that Sensei brought me to you, Hiroko. I can't talk like this to him or my brothers."

"Speaking of which, I hear some of the younger girls talking about Kankuro," said Hiroko in a conspiratorial whisper. "Three in particular."

"Really? Ew, but he's so, so--"

"You're supposed to feel like that, he's your brother after all," laughed Hiroko. "Seeing Kankuro without his face paint is a major coupe for the genin. One even has a pet cat named Kankuro."

"What? You mean," Temari burst into laughter before she could finish her thought. "Kankuro could be out walking in the village and hear his name called by a girl who's only looking for her cat?"

"Don't make me laugh so much, Temari, although the baby likes it," chastised Hiroko when she recovered some control. She patted her belly and said, "Baki shouldn't keep you locked away in the tower like some fairy princess. Thank goodness we broke up when we did; he can be so old-fashioned."

Temari sobered up a bit and suddenly seemed to be inspecting her toes. "I like Baki the way he is, so maybe I'm old-fashioned, too."

Hiroko caught something in her tone and decided to pry a bit. "Just how do you like him, exactly?"

The blush and accompanying shrug gave it away, but Temari was not a coward, so she explained, "I respect my Sensei, but lately I've been noticing more things that I like about him. Ahem, physical things."

"Like how tall and lean he is? Or how elegant but strong his hands look? Or how his mouth looks so firm and soft at the same time?" Hiroko patted her shoulder in comfort. 

"I am so embarrassed! But, yes, I guess since you dated him, you'd know, wouldn't you?" said Temari.

"Baki is no pretty boy; his attraction is his strength. That's nothing to be ashamed of." Hiroko punched Temari playfully in the shoulder. "Don't worry. You've just got a crush on a teacher; it happens all the time. Luckily for you, Baki is such a prude he'd never take advantage of you. Besides, he's not the touchy-feely type of guy."

"Yes, but that's another thing I like about him," said Temari glumly.

"Good, then when this little crush is over, you'll still appreciate your Sensei. You see, these infatuations come and go at your age. In a few weeks, you'll be noticing one of the chunin hanging around the mission desk or maybe the boy who works with the baker or it might even be some boy that you find very annoying at first." 

Temari frowned at this state of constant transition. "A crush sounds so immature and fickle. Where's the loyalty, the sense of commitment to the well being of the person?"

"I think crushes are a way to make sure you recognize love when you're finally ready for it. That's when the loyalty and commitment come to play. In the meantime, you need to get out more. I know you're the Kazekage's daughter, but that means it's important you learn to be confident about being a woman so that some pretty boy doesn't convince you to run away with him because you've developed a crush."

"I would never desert my brothers or my people," replied Temari immediately.

"Damn, Baki's good. He's got you speaking Shinobi all the time. The thing is, you don't have to give up being feminine to be a good ninja. Do you know that Tsunade, the female sannin, can heal a man or crush him with a single punch? And she's supposed to be no taller than you, a pretty, busty blonde from what I hear."

"So, you think I need to feel as proud of the fact that I'm a woman as I am that I'm a ninja?"

"Be true to yourself, Temari. Don't avoid the 'girly' stuff just because your brothers will tease you. And frankly, Baki has always been exasperated by the feminine, so it would do him good to get some exposure to the concept of soft but strong."

"That's an idea. I could be educating Baki for a change," said Temari with a grin. "Okay, tomorrow, let's go shopping."

"Good, and you'll get some practice at harmless flirting. Just smile at the boys, be pleasant, laugh at their lame jokes, and make sure they know their boundaries," said Hiroko.

"Boundaries?" asked Temari.

"Yes, you know, look but don't touch?"

"Look but don't touch. Then how does a girl ever get a boyfriend?" Temari frowned.

"That's the whole point. He's the exception to the rule."

"Ah," said Temari with a tone of enlightenment. Her mind conjured the image of a faceless male, tall, but definitely strong, wind user...

"And with a watchdog like Baki, I'd say the young man had better be very exceptional or he's likely to see the Wind Sword in action."

"Baki wouldn't decapitate a man on account of me!" exclaimed Temari as her phantom boyfriend disappeared in a puff of fear.

"I don't think Baki would be aiming for the boy's head, Temari," laughed Hiroko.

"Right," said Temari with relief. "Sounds like I better not have a boyfriend who's weaker than Baki."

"Setting high standards is a good idea," agreed Hiroko.

"So by touching are you including kissing?" asked Temari. 

"The hand holding and touching can lead to kissing, but that doesn't mean you have to have sex with him. You might have several boyfriends before you find one worth losing your viginity, but he doesn't have to be the man you marry."

"I don't want to get married and have babies, Hiroko," admitted Temari. "No offense, but--"

"I used to feel the same way, Temari, and there's nothing wrong with simply being lovers when you're adults. But remember that accidents happen, so don't have sex with anyone you wouldn't want to father a child with you. Men can and do walk away from a pregnancy; women can't, at least, not in Suna. And avoid it until you know you can support a baby."

"I intend to make jonin by the time I'm eighteen--although I guess that sounds arrogant considering I'm fourteen and still genin," sighed Temari.

"That's only because the Kazekage has prohibited your participation in the chunin exams thus far. That doesn't mean you don't have the skill for the rank, Temari," said Hiroko sympathetically. "That's one thing I wouldn't trade with you. I'd hate to be the Kazekage's daughter; your life is pretty much in his control."

"Yes, but at least we have Baki," assured Temari. Then she jumped in surprise and pointed at Hiroko's belly. "It jumped! I saw it move!"

"The baby does gymnastics this time of night. Here, feel," offered Hiroko.

Temari suddenly looked fearful, so the woman assured, "Babies are a miracle, not a threat, Temari."

The girl placed her hand on the pregnant woman and felt some of her fears melting away. Being a woman was a powerful thing. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_The Tower_

The men of the fifth floor were in for a surprise when Temari returned from her day with Hiroko. Gaara and Kankuro had just finished breakfast when their sister entered laden with two large bags and sporting a new look. 

The red head actually whispered to his brother. "Is that really Temari? She looks odd."

Kankuro whispered back, "She's always been odd, Gaara, but now she's odd in a girly way which means guys are gonna notice her. And you know what that means. Trouble!"

"Trouble?" queried Gaara.

"Yeah, remember that Men Are Pigs lecture that Baki gave us?" Kankuro murmured.

"Speak of it and you die," muttered Gaara.

"Don't I even get a hello?" asked Temari in exasperation at her brothers' whispered conversation.

"Oh, hell," said Kankuro instead as he noticed the Sensei stepping out of his room and doing a double-take when he spotted Temari.

Baki couldn't believe his eyes. What had happened to the blonde-haired little tomboy? She had been consumed by the pubescent nymph standing there in a lilac colored--mini-skirt? 

His vicious scowl was reinforced by the thunderous tone of his voice. "You've got legs!"

Temari grinned in spite of the tremor, determined to appear confident. "Yeah, Hiroko said all my training has given them really good muscle tone."

"Muscle tone?" Baki seemed to be unable to get his mouth to work. He had sent the girl out to prevent any more jiggling and instead he gets back a young siren. 

"You can't train in that outfit. Go change now!"

"Training is no problem, Sensei. See, I've got shorts underneath," said Temari as she hiked up one side of her skirt over her hip.

For the first time in his life he felt close to a nosebleed and all on account of this--temptress. Wait, no, he couldn't be having impure thoughts about Temari? She was turning him into a pervert!

"Don't do that!" commanded Baki. As an afterthought he added, "Ever."

Baki took a deep breath to collect his composure, but still barked his orders at the boys, "Kankuro, you and Gaara go ahead to the training field and warm up for taijutsu. And take your kunai for practice, too. Start with that and we'll meet you there later."

Temari watched her brothers leave in silence, but instead of giving into the impulse to flee to her room, she stood her ground. Her heart lurched at the thought that things were going to change between her and her Sensei, but it was important to stand firm. Still, she began by offering Baki a bow of apology.

"Forgive me, Sensei, I have great respect for you and I've become a strong ninja under your care. But Hiroko convinced me that doesn't mean I can't also be a strong woman. And in that, I will be true to myself. I know this is abrupt, but I've outgrown being a tomboy."

Temari then lifted her head to look directly at the jonin. "I don't want to be my brothers' shadow anymore. I don't want people to only point to Gaara of the Desert or Kankuro the Puppet Master. I want them to see Temari, the Tessen, the Iron Fan, not, not-- the blonde-haired boy with the cat and pet raccoon!"

"Temari--" began Baki, but then he suddenly stopped and began laughing. He quickly caught his breath and asked, "Who called Gaara a pet raccoon?"

Temari felt the tension between them dissipate as she grinned, "It was one of the Border Bears last year during the Nightingale mission. " 

"Ah, yes," said Baki with a touch of nostalgia, before ending with, "Don't ever remind me of that again."

"I promise." Temari smiled but then said firmly, "I'll change clothes if you insist, Sensei, but I'd rather show you that I'm not hampered in a skirt."

Baki inhaled deeply as he considered the metamorphosis of the tomboy. He felt as if he had lost something--or someone--special. "Take your things to your room and then follow us to the training grounds. We'll continue this discussion after you prove this new--outfit--doesn't impair you in taijutsu, so don't dawdle."

Baki walked out determined to take a detour to have a little talk with Hiroko before meeting his team.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_Sunagakure_

Temari was soon on the street walking at a fast pace to get to the training grounds. The hand fan strapped at her waist was dangling from the red sash she wore and emphasized the sway of her hips. She walked oblivious to the effect her new look had on the males of Suna. 

Indeed, the baker's boy stumbled to send several loaves tumbling, the flower shop's assistant watered the owner rather than the plants, and a jonin got slapped by his girlfriend for staring after her. The male attention failed to register until a group of young men blocked her path.

"Where you going in such a hurry, babe?" asked a rather handsome young chunin. 

Temari looked at him and merely said, "Training."

"Kunoichi, huh? That's real cute." His cohort laughed as they saw her discomfiture. 

Temari said nothing, but tried to walk around them with determination. She thought she was free of them when she felt a distinct pinch to her rump and heard the chortling from the gang.

"Oh, babe, you are ripe for the picking, aren't you?" 

Temari unfolded the hand fan and sent the cutting wind at the cohort with satisfaction. The young men were thrown against the wall, each bearing various lacerations on their body. Nothing deep, but certainly annoying.

"I am not cute, I'm deadly. My name isn't Babe, it's Temari." She folded the fan and smirked at the young men who were now staring at her with wide-eyes as they recognized the name. "Look, but don't touch."

"Oh, man, you were hitting on the Kazekage's daughter!" 

"I'm more worried about him!" said the man as he pointed to the jonin now standing behind Temari. "Wind Sword!" 

"Any problems here?" asked Baki mildly as he held the gang immobile with his glare.

"Just flirting, Sensei," replied Temari as she deftly put away the fan. "I think I've established the rules."

"Get going then," said Baki. Temari glanced quickly to the young men, he assured, "They just need a short lesson in respect."

Temari bowed to her Sensei and left. Baki approached the leader of the group, who at least had the gumption to stand tall to face the jonin. The young man winced even as Baki raised his hand, but instead of a blow from the Wind Sword, he only got a dope slap to the side of the head.

"Impaired judgment, poor impulse control, faulty memory, and a lack of respect for women. Little wonder that you're still genin at your age," scoffed Baki. They looked about eighteen.

"Sir, I meant no--"

Baki stopped the young man with a slap to the face. "I don't like suck-ups. You're fast to show respect to power, but not to someone you deemed powerless."

The jonin then let his gaze fall on the rest of the gang. "I'll inform your Sensei that you're spending the next month on sewer duty. And be grateful that I let Temari handle you on her own. I keep telling her that she's too gentle. Now go the the mission desk and await your orders."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_Suna Training Grounds_

Baki joined his team for the taijutsu, each one sparring with a clone. He watched Temari for a moment as he remembered his little detour to the mission desk and his discussion with Hiroko. Or rather, the tongue-lashing the chunin had given him. He had agreed that the girl needed to learn the ways of the world, but insisted she also needed to understand the dangers of being a kunoichi. 

Temari had a lesson to learn; dealing with boys was not the same as dealing with men. At the end of the session, he began this tutorial. He approached Temari while Kankuro and Gaara watched their interaction.

"Temari, you don't appear impaired by this new outfit you want to wear and I can also see where an attractive woman can be distracting to a male opponent. Just remember that a kunoichi runs the risk of being targeted for special treatment."

"I can take care of myself, Sensei," Temari insisted.

"Really?" Baki moved to stand close to the girl. "Show me what you could do to stop me."

The jonin caught the girl around the waist and brought her against his body. Temari used the heel of her palm to thrust into his throat. Baki didn't even flinch at the blow, but captured her wrists and drew her closer. 

"What now?" he taunted.

Temari knew he was strong, but had not understood the true strength of his grasp before. She moved to kick at him, but he easily subdued her by catching her legs by crooking one of his around her. She struggled in vain and then her heart seemed to stop as he moved one hand from her wrist to wrap around her throat.

"What now, Temari? You can't even scream."

All Temari could do was cast a pleading glance to her brothers. A whirl of sand began rising around their bodies. 

"Close your fist and you'll crush your sister, too, Gaara. I've told you that you need to work on finesse." Baki maintained his hold on Temari as he spoke calmly. He brought her wrists behind her back and she winced in pain.

"Gaara might crush her, but the kunai will drill through your head, Sensei," said Kankuro. 

Baki looked upward briefly and smirked when he saw two kunai suspended and spinning above him under the control of Kankuro's chakra strings. "Good, now you're working as a team."

"Let her go, Sensei. You've made your point." Kankuro did not withdraw the kunai nor did Gaara's sand recede.

"On my count, we all release," Baki said sternly. "One, two, three."

The sound of the kunai slapping into Kankuro's hand was closely followed by the hiss of retreating sand. Baki released Temari's wrists and legs, but kept a steady hand on her back lest she fall.

"Sit and catch your breath," ordered Baki as he helped her sit on the sand. He used his one minor healing ability as he lightly touched the areas her throat to prevent the bruising.

A subdued Temari just nodded and began breathing deeply.

"That was cold, Sensei," admonished Kankuro.

"Kankuro, remember that talk I had with you and Gaara? What was the main lesson."

The answer came from Gaara. "Men are pigs. Does that apply to you as well, Sensei?"

"Of course, but one can learn to be prudent about expressing it. You're going to have to watch after your sister now." Baki held up his hand and added, "I know Temari, you're strong, but the hazards you face may not come on the battleground, but right here in Sunagakure."

"But people know she's the Kazekage's daughter and the Wind Sword's student," countered Kankuro.

"No, they didn't recognize me earlier, Kankuro, not dressed as a girl. Half the village thinks the Kazekage has three sons," admitted Temari.

"And another unfortunate truth about our village is that it has more than its share of drunken louts who'll act first and think about who she is too late. But worse are those sadistic enemy ninja who will specifically target kunoichi for rape," explained Baki. "Remember your lesson today so none of you have that to regret."

"I'd like more training in taijutsu, Sensei," added Temari. "I want to be able to handle a man of your size by myself. I can't expect your or my brothers to always be around."

"Good, my intention was to demonstrate your vulnerability, not to make you fearful of men." Baki was relieved when he saw the fire in her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go see about moving out of the Tower. It would not be appropriate to have me live here any longer."

Temari stared in shock, but Kankuro voiced his surprise first. "But you're our Sensei, you know? You can't leave me alone with a bossy big sister and a psycho punk of a brother."

"You're man enough to handle it, Kankuro." 

"But how am I going to keep those two in line?" asked Temari in dismay.

"Temari, sometimes I think your brothers fear you far more than they fear me." 

"So you just give up on us?" asked Gaara as if he expected this all along.

"I will remain as your Sensei on the roster while you're still genin, but I want nothing to taint Temari's reputation. My continuing to live at the Tower is not a good idea; I should have moved to my grandfather's house when he died."

"So it's not that you're disappointed in us, in me?" asked Temari. 

Baki turned to sweep all of them in his gaze. "All of you were operating at chunin level last year. On our last mission you performed at the level of our newest jonin. You are kept as genin because the Kazekage is not ready for your abilities to be recognized yet, but the time is coming."

"Sensei--"

Baki smiled faintly and said, "As far as I am concerned, you are chunin and should address me as Baki, a colleague who will help you grow in your skills, but not as Sensei."

"Well, ahem, Baki," said Kankuro, deepening his voice as he tried that address for the first time, "we can at least help you pack, you know."

"Thanks, but I'll see to it. Why don't you three enjoy the rest of the afternoon at the mall," said Baki as he referred to the open lawn area. "There's a puppet show, I hear, to raise funds to support the children left orphaned by the raiders."

Later as Baki carried his belongings to his grandfather's house in the cliffs, he passed by the mall to make sure his team was enjoying and not disrupting the afternoon.

Kankuro was in the front row explaining the puppet show to a girl sitting beside him who was petting a cat. The boy looked more interested in the _bunraku_ than the girl, but then it didn't hurt if the boy was still a bit clueless about female interest.

Temari was sitting at the back row surrounded by a group of boys. Several were vying for the privilege of getting her a drink. One brave soul began leaning closer to her, but Temari's sharp elbow was a good deterrent. Baki smirked and he saw her glance up quickly to him and wink. He saluted her and looked for the last one. 

Baki had to scan the environs before he found the boy. In fact, he had to follow the gaze of a young girl sitting in the section reserved for the orphans. There was Gaara hanging upside-down in a nearby tree, almost invisible. Again, he reminded Baki of the shy ones who are more comfortable watching than participating in human life.

He hoped they enjoyed the peace of the moment. Soon, they would all be tested.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The dry winds of Suna shape its landscape; their constant presence assures new sand dunes are created and on rare occasions, hidden treasures are exposed. But one must take care not to be buried in the shifting sand. Against these dry winds stand the cliffs of Suna, giving part of themselves to the winds for its new creations, but also offering shelter against sandstorms. To the children of the Kazekage, their Sensei was like these cliffs. And to Baki? The three siblings were the hidden treasures about to be exposed.

_End of Dry Winds_

**Author Note:**

I painted Baki as a 'man's man' sort of guy, old-fashioned, but with a sense of honor that drives his actions. I thought he would find Temari the greatest challenge and this last chapter was to illustrate this, so I'm sorry it did not have the balance readers have enjoyed in previous chapters. Not only is she a girl, but the idea that one day she would be his wife generates conflicting emotions. Without that complication, it would have been easy for him to disregard her.

Crushes on teachers are also normal; that doesn't mean I'm advocating student-teacher relationships. I used Hiroko to point these things out to Temari who up to this time has lived in a world of men. By the time the chunin exams start in Konoha the next year, she seems very confident. But that's for a different story.

I don't think Kankuro had fangirls like the other characters in Naruto, but surely there were some girls interested in the Kazekage's son. I did not give the girl a name because she's just the first girl he talks to. 

And for Gaara. The image of when Team 7 first encounters him was stuck in my mind for the last scene. What you don't know at the time is that the girl watching him is Matsuri. The mission Team Baki completed dealt with the raiders who had attacked her village.

Special thanks to Adlerauge, spriterx, Elfdragon12, hi, doryshness, and Danie for the encouraging comments on the previous chapter. 

Thank you for reading the stories. If you enjoyed this one, then you can look forward to another arc dealing with the chunin exams and aftermath, but I'm not sure when I'll have those ready. As usual, reviews are not necessary, but always welcomed. 


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